OH Auto Insurance peeps - questions...

[Moto-Brian]

OK, so the wife hit a deer (It actually hit her) this morning. It's a 2006 Infiniti G35 Coupe. Has under 14k a year average and is in excellent shape. Waxed, maintained, garaged, etc.

Car was not damaged before we had this happen. Creased the fender on driver's side and maybe some damage to the bumper. Not positive at this stage yet.

So, I call Progressive and I get told I can take it to one of their "certified service centers" or to one of my own. I'd prefer to take it to the Infiniti dealer and get authentic Infiniti parts and have their guy that probably can color match, blend and do a factory quality paint job.

However, Progressive is saying that they will not authorize OEM parts, but rather aftermarket parts and will have their claim representative come out and give an estimate. That estimate is what they will approve and that amount only.

So, if I want the OEM parts, quality paint job, etc., I can pay above and beyond what they approve.

Is this accurate? I thought I had the right to demand who I take it to and if I gathered estimates, they would approve the lowest one from the places I went to.

I am sure things have changed and by me asking, you can tell that I haven't had a reason to even deal with this in MANY years. I think it was like 1999 or something...

Just looking for some guidance or what it is that I can do to ensure it is done well and to my standards. I found it funny for her to say that it will be just like new and like it was before the crash and when I said "Well, except with different parts and probably a poorer paint job" and she said that wasn't true.

Anyways, can someone tell me that I am just going to have to deal with it or that I have some sort of rights in all this? I pay a ton of money per year for this shit and only am allowed to settle with what they say it is worth...

[Tonik]

These days most insurance companies state in their policy that aftermarket parts will be used. Many offer oem parts as an additional premium. If progressive is saying aftermarket i suspect they are right.

However they and the repair place are required to fix it right. If not you refuse the car. Personally i would just go with their shop. Bet there is an added warranty if you do.

FWIW in my previous life i was in the autobody aftermarket and those parts and the approved shops are fine. You will be happy.

[Tonik]

Oh and yes you can take it anywhere you want and the insurance company and shop will argue over the details and price.

[conn-e-rot]

I think all insurance companies use aftermarket parts now and progressive will warranty all repairs as long as you own the vehicle as long as you use their shops. Just make sure you go over the car with a fine tooth comb before you take delivery.

[Tomcat0403]

My wife and I have progressive. I assume you own the car outright you can take the cash and do whatever you want with it. if the fender is creased take it to a body shop rather than getting a new one. The insurance company will quote it as replacing the parts and the labor involved on either side. I would let them quote it out and take it to a body shop. When she got into a wreck with a deer my friend (body guy) and i replaced the parts we needed and fixed the rest of it. Walked away with $1500 or so. 100% legal, only thing i had to do was prove to the lien company that the car was fixed, so i provided pictures and a parts list and they approved it right away.

[conn-e-rot]

My agent told me several years ago always remember animals run into you this falls under comprehensive and doesn't count against you as an accident. If you say you ran into the animal some companies classify it as a collision and it counts against you.

[Tomcat0403]

And yes, they dont take apart the car when quoting at all so go over it yourself. We found 2 more parts that were broken which added up to another $850 or so.

[Tomcat0403]

Progressive is comprehensive, at least for us it was.

[Scruit]

Avoid the "Approved" bodyshops. I have never had luck with an approved bodyshop. To this day I'm still finding stuff they messed up years ago. Missing bolts from parts that they couldn't get to line up, etc. (rather than fixing it correctly so that the parts lined up) . Paint crazing after a year.

One place painted the car and it wound up with debris in the paint as big as grains of sand. They say they'd fix it, but it turns out they just kept polishing it. I refused the car 3x and on the 4th pickup date the insurance adjuster came with me - he measure the paint thickness and asked the bodyshop had put more paint on it after the first complaint. nope. They just kept polishing it over and over until it was only "a couple passes of a buffer from seeing primer" according to the adjuster. The adjuster STILL tried to get me to accept the car back but I refused and demanded it go to another bodyshop of my choosing. I took it to First Impressions Columbus and they nailed the fixes first time.

Funny thing was that after pressuring me to accept the poor repairs ("I don't think anyone has the ability to fix this car to a point where you will be happy with it") he signed off on my own bodyshop choice and then said; "I don't blame you, I'd have refused it too."

I spoke with the bodyshop receptionist after she moved on to a new job and found that they had fired the bodyshop manager because I was just one of a dozen unhappy customers all complaining about the same types of things (bad paint, panel gaps, unfinished reassembly) at the same time.

And the bad shop is still an approved bodyshop for my insurance company...

[crb]

My agent told me several years ago always remember animals run into you this falls under comprehensive and doesn't count against you as an accident. If you say you ran into the animal some companies classify it as a collision and it counts against you.

Depends some insurance companies are not that petty!

[conn-e-rot]

Depends some insurance companies are not that petty!

I'm sure some are better and some are worse that's why I said "some".

[Scruit]

My agent told me several years ago always remember animals run into you this falls under comprehensive and doesn't count against you as an accident. If you say you ran into the animal some companies classify it as a collision and it counts against you.

My agent told me any collision with an animal in the roadway is no-fault to me. The big thing is HIT THE DAMN DEER - don't swerve. If you crash off the side of the road and leave no evidence that there was a deer then you will get cited for failure to maintain control and the claim will be ruled a "collision", not "Comprehensive". Same with any crash - if someone cuts you off and you swerve and crash then the offender can drive away while your car is disabled - or simply deny cutting you off - and there's no physical evidence to back up your side of the story. The police and insurance companies deal with "phantom cars" and "phantom deer" all the time and 99% of those folks are lying, so they'll assume you are too.

http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=72e4c50b-19ea-4c81-87a9-7215fd1d84c3

[Scruit]

My agent told me several years ago always remember animals run into you this falls under comprehensive and doesn't count against you as an accident. If you say you ran into the animal some companies classify it as a collision and it counts against you.

It would be easy to tell the difference. If the damage is to the front of the car then you hit the deer. If the damage is to the side then the deer hit you.

Luckily, it doesn't matter (to anyone except conn-e-rot's agent)

[conn-e-rot]

My agent told me any collision with an animal in the roadway is no-fault to me. The big thing is HIT THE DAMN DEER - don't swerve. If you crash off the side of the road and leave no evidence that there was a deer then you will get cited for failure to maintain control and the claim will be ruled a "collision", not "Comprehensive". Same with any crash - if someone cuts you off and you swerve and crash then the offender can drive away while your car is disabled - or simply deny cutting you off - and there's no physical evidence to back up your side of the story. The police and insurance companies deal with "phantom cars" and "phantom deer" all the time and 99% of those folks are lying, so they'll assume you are too.

http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=72e4c50b-19ea-4c81-87a9-7215fd1d84c3

Well all I know is I hit a deer and called it in and she said you mean a deer hit you and I said no I didn't see it soon enough and it ran out and I hit it and then she said no you mean the deer hit you they always hit you.

[conn-e-rot]

This happened in PA and to top it off the insurance co asked for a police report so I called PA state patrol asking about getting a report the trooper said they don't do police reports for deer in PA.

[conn-e-rot]

It would be easy to tell the difference. If the damage is to the front of the car then you hit the deer. If the damage is to the side then the deer hit you.

Luckily, it doesn't matter (to anyone except conn-e-rot's agent)

Not my agent anymore this was years ago as I stated before and I hit it almost dead center of the front of my exploder

[crb]

Well all I know is I hit a deer and called it in and she said you mean a deer hit you and I said no I didn't see it soon enough and it ran out and I hit it and then she said no you mean the deer hit you they always hit you.

It is the same thing we do in the trucking industry. Thr deer in trucking always hits you otherwise some companies will put it as preventable on your record. Luckily I work for a decent company.

I had a deer hit me in my first car.

Totally agree scruit hit the animal. I have a hard time allowing dogs to hit me though.

I have had no issue with my shop or their shop.

Most policies say aftermarket parts. If you want OEM parts take their check and pay the additional. I have no experience as a customer with progressive, but my parents do. I hope your experience is better than theirs. I had to deal with one of progressive's adjusters once and he was pleasant. I however was not as his client was very rude at the accident.

Edited February 6, 2013 by crb

[Bubba]

Same thing happened to me many years ago. State Farm insisted I accept aftermarket parts instead of OEM. Bottom line, I took the car to a very reputable shop that I had used before and talked to the owner. He said that he'd make sure that the parts would work, and when they weren't an exact match, he ran interference with my claims adjuster who eventually OK'd OEM parts. 'Course, this meant the job took another 10-14 days longer, but SF was comping me a rental car. Find a good body shop with a quality rep and have a heart-to-heart with the shop owner and let him know you want it to be indistinguishable from new.

[standout]

I would never take it to an "approved" body shop. Take it where u want. It will be more difficult and take longer but its worth it in my opinion. The insurance company doesnt have that buddy buddy relationship with the un-approved shops.In my experience the shop i used every time they found something wrong or needed more parts the adjuster had to come out again and view my car. With the approved shops they already have a trust built so that is eliminated but theres also the understanding of shortcuts.

[jbctown]

I own a collision shop and only use aftermarket if I have no other option.

Have Progressive write the estimate and take it the dealer or the shop

your having the repairs done and ask them if they can price match OE.

I can price match body parts about 90% of the time with dealers I buy from. However when you get into engine and suspension work not so much.