Getting your car repaired can be one of the most troublesome aspects of a car accident, especially for those where no injury occurred.
In most cases, an insurance company will be compensating you for the amount reasonably necessary to repair your car. The company may be yours or it may be the other driver’s.
Often, insurance companies will have made arrangements with certain repair shops for reduced rates, and they will ask that you have your car repaired by that shop.
Although you have the legal right to select the shop where your car is to be repaired, the insurance company is required only to compensate you for the reasonable repair cost. In some cases, this may be less than your shop would charge. You may be responsible for the difference, if the additional costs are unreasonable.
The choice of body shops is subject to negotiation with the insurance company. If the estimate by the company’s shop is far lower than the estimate you received from the repair shop you select, you should have your repair shop discuss the matter with the insurance adjuster. Alternatively, ask your repairman to review the insurance company’s estimate and point out to you why that estimate is unreasonably low.
You should take this information to the insurance company to see whether you can work out a compromise.
If no agreement can be reached, you have the choice of accepting the company’s repair estimate or paying your repair shop to do the work and then filing a lawsuit against the responsible party (or your insurance company, if you are making a claim under your own collision coverage) for the cost of repairs.
Often, these lawsuits can be brought without a lawyer’s assistance in Small Claims or Justice Courts. Filing a suit can be a difficult matter because the insurance company may hire an attorney to contest your lawsuit and the cost of resolving the matter in court may exceed what you reasonable can expect to receive.
If you sue your own insurance company, and you lose your lawsuit, you run the additional risk of being ordered to pay some or all of the company’s legal fees.
In making the selection of a repair shop, the law does not require that you use the lowest bidder. The costs at your facility of choice simply must be within the reasonable range for such services.