State Farm auto claim problem

[Morgan]

I’ll try to keep this brief(edit: I may have failed), but looking for advice to resolve an issue.

Wife dropped her car off last month, 9/12, for PDR resulting from hail damage. 9/12 was the first available appointment following her “virtual claims adjuster visit” in mid- August.

State Farm and the body shop have been communicating back and forth with supplement requests with photos/ evidence for about 30 days which is the limit of our rental coverage.

Her vehicle has not been touched since drop off, and we’re now on the hook for the rental costs exceeding 30 days.

I don’t recognize a reality where bureaucracy and delayed action by SF and the body shop result in me incurring the rental costs.

I’ve had SF coverage for over 25yrs and accepted paying higher rates knowing that claims would be hassle-free. Evidently SF operates like the low cost insurers now, but that’s a different topic.

I know we have insurance and repair facility experts- how can I avoid paying the rental? (we’re returning the rental tomorrow and retrieving her car until the final estimate is approved)

 

[Cobra1776]

Was this totally a PDR job? SF recommended shop? Any parts replacement If so any parts delays? If not, I’d go up the chain. 30 days for a PDR job is absurd. It sounds like to me the shop and SF was not agreeing to the estimate.

 

[MG0h3]

My buddy ran into this with delayed repairs due to the insurance agency dragging ass.

He had a lawyer send a demand letter. They ended up covering his rental and the lawyer fees (minor). Think he was in the rental like 3 months.

They tried to return the truck “repaired” when it clearly wasn’t, then said the rental was on him.


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[365 Saleen]

All Ins companies have thousands of Lawyers hired to try and find ways to NOT pay claims. Have you seen their Corporate offices? Sky scrapers filled with employees trying to find a way to not pay claims.
I once made a plea to the Attorney General of the State of Wa. regarding something similar. He told me that while my complaint was legitimate, it was "technically" not outside the law for them to deny my claim. He actually told me "have you seen the skyscraper in downtown Seattle that is owned by this Ins,. Company? They specialize in finding "legal" ways to not pay claim's."
Good luck. You are going to need it.

 

[Morgan]

Was this totally a PDR job? SF recommended shop? Any parts replacement If so any parts delays? If not, I’d go up the chain. 30 days for a PDR job is absurd. It sounds like to me the shop and SF was not agreeing to the estimate.

Except for some chrome window trim, yes, all PDR. Also correct that there is lack of agreement for the cost. I’ve paid cash for PDR numerous times and spent somewhere around $100-150 per panel. The shop is subletting the PDR and is tossing around a number above $6000! SF tells me they are dealing with more and more examples of outrageous costs. The vehicle is a Lexus and the shop is a Toyota collision center, our dealer doesn’t maintain a collision center and sends everything to the Toyota shop. The nearest SF approved center is an hour away, just inside San Antonio, and not in a pleasant area.

My buddy ran into this with delayed repairs due to the insurance agency dragging ass.

He had a lawyer send a demand letter. They ended up covering his rental and the lawyer fees (minor). Think he was in the rental like 3 months.

They tried to return the truck “repaired” when it clearly wasn’t, then said the rental was on him.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

I have a lawyer pal, will call him- thanks.

All Ins companies have thousands of Lawyers hired to try and find ways to NOT pay claims. Have you seen their Corporate offices? Sky scrapers filled with employees trying to find a way to not pay claims.
I once made a plea to the Attorney General of the State of Wa. regarding something similar. He told me that while my complaint was legitimate, it was "technically" not outside the law for them to deny my claim. He actually told me "have you seen the skyscraper in downtown Seattle that is owned by this Ins,. Company? They specialize in finding "legal" ways to not pay claim's."
Good luck. You are going to need it.

Thanks, you’re right!

 

[SHOdown220]

Screw State Farm. 2 weeks after buying my Mustang I was on the interstate and a pickup truck with an uncovered trailer had pieces of gravel flying out of it hit my car in 3 seperate spots gouging the paint.

Had a company number on the side so I called highway patrol and reported the incident. Officer called the company number, located the truck nearby and we met with them. They were cited for failure to secure load and officer noted loose gravel in trailer with no cover. Also cited for a few other minor things. Anyways they had State Farm insurance.

SF denied the claim citing the length of time between the incident and the police report was too long, it was less than 45 minutes. 30 of those I spent waiting for NCHP to arrive. So I guess it’s my fault I couldn’t force the truck off the road and stop or speed up the time it took officer response.

Learned my lesson, don’t ever sign up with State Farm, and dash cams from here on

 

[93Cobra#2771]

If they don't have an in-house PDR guy (which they probably don't), then they may be waiting on their PDR to show up. Sometimes those guys travel a ton, and have "routes" they go on. Not out of the realm of possibilities they take a month to get there while collecting enough business to make it worth his while to drive there.

Regardless, it is ridiculous to keep you waiting in that time frame when the car could be driven.

I'd suggest picking up the car and having them call you the day before to get the car back in the shop. PDR is reasonably quick on hail dings unless you look like a golf ball.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I had State Farm for roughly 15 years, but as soon as I started working in body repair I dropped them and switched to USAA. They are one of the largest auto insurers but one of the worst for customers and shops to deal with. I got rid of them for that reason.

I deal with these types of claims every day but I don't necessarily deal with the rentals. Shops get calls from the companies to find out roughly how much longer the repair will take so they can extend the rental so the shop should have been relaying the information that was causing delays. $6k is a lot for PDR but as I mentioned in another thread $6k for repairs is pretty average now days so that number shouldn't be holding things up as it isn't that extravagant in the grand scheme.

As far as the process goes, State Farm would have likely wrote their own estimate/supplement after the shop sent theirs. After State Farm makes their own supplement then the shop has to match that supplement cost exactly, and then creates another supplement on top of that if need be. If State Farm agrees to PDR and the cost is more than State Farm is stating then the shop just needs to do the repair and send State Farm the invoices. If the PDR sublet is charging way more than the average rate of PDR in the region then the shop needs to take that into consideration and shouldn't be paying for services that are out of line with the average. You have to be reasonable.

I'm curious why the shop hasn't moved forward because if State Farm had given the go-ahead for PDR then the shop should be getting it done and if their bill is slightly higher then just supplement for the added costs and send State Farm the bill with the invoices.

Edit: Also, a lot of parts are being held up right now and are on backorder with no ETA, especially the domestics with the strike going on. That's no ones fault so the insurance company is obligated to extend coverage until the parts become available or an alternative option can be found.

 

[98 svt]

I had this happen to me once. Insurance called and told me my allotted $$$ for a rental would be up soon. Apparently, you get 30 days at $xx a day. I just brought my Mustang GT ($50/day) rental back, and traded it in for a Kia ($30/day).
That gave me enough time to get my car finished up without anything coming out of my pocket.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I forgot to mention that there is also a total number if days allotted for a repair based on total labor hours divided by average hours per day of work that equals number of days to repair. I've always been told you average 3-4hrs/day to work on a vehicle so a 30hr repair would take 10 days on the high end. The shop has a responsibility to try and stick to that time frame unless they have a reason to exceed it and it does happen often. We've got a couple vehicles that are 2 and 3 months in repair and that likely exceeds days to repair but there is good reason for it and there is no issue with the insurance company over it.

 

[jessie_sanders]

I had State Farm for roughly 15 years, but as soon as I started working in body repair I dropped them and switched to USAA. They are one of the largest auto insurers but one of the worst for customers and shops to deal with. I got rid of them for that reason.

I deal with these types of claims every day but I don't necessarily deal with the rentals. Shops get calls from the companies to find out roughly how much longer the repair will take so they can extend the rental so the shop should have been relaying the information that was causing delays. $6k is a lot for PDR but as I mentioned in another thread $6k for repairs is pretty average now days so that number shouldn't be holding things up as it isn't that extravagant in the grand scheme.

As far as the process goes, State Farm would have likely wrote their own estimate/supplement after the shop sent theirs. After State Farm makes their own supplement then the shop has to match that supplement cost exactly, and then creates another supplement on top of that if need be. If State Farm agrees to PDR and the cost is more than State Farm is stating then the shop just needs to do the repair and send State Farm the invoices. If the PDR sublet is charging way more than the average rate of PDR in the region then the shop needs to take that into consideration and shouldn't be paying for services that are out of line with the average. You have to be reasonable.

I'm curious why the shop hasn't moved forward because if State Farm had given the go-ahead for PDR then the shop should be getting it done and if their bill is slightly higher then just supplement for the added costs and send State Farm the bill with the invoices.

Edit: Also, a lot of parts are being held up right now and are on backorder with no ETA, especially the domestics with the strike going on. That's no ones fault so the insurance company is obligated to extend coverage until the parts become available or an alternative option can be found.

USAA is only for military folk, right?

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[svtfocus2cobra]

USAA is only for military folk, right?

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Yeah, and family I guess.

 

[MG0h3]

Yeah, and family I guess.

Yes, family as well.

I got a quote and it was worse than what I had with SF or Progressive.

With Allstate now. Owner is my buds ex GF and we’re all still friends so I don’t worry about any BS with a claim. She puts my jeep and Cobra on some discount due to mileage as well.


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[svtfocus2cobra]

Yes, family as well.

I got a quote and it was worse than what I had with SF or Progressive.

With Allstate now. Owner is my buds ex GF and we’re all still friends so I don’t worry about any BS with a claim. She puts my jeep and Cobra on some discount due to mileage as well.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

Allstate is good to work with as is Pemco and Progressive. USAA gave me slightly better rates but the biggest thing was how well I knew they handled claims. They aren't better than everyone else but they are among the best and don't hassle about little things.

 

[Cobra1776]

Except for some chrome window trim, yes, all PDR. Also correct that there is lack of agreement for the cost. I’ve paid cash for PDR numerous times and spent somewhere around $100-150 per panel. The shop is subletting the PDR and is tossing around a number above $6000! SF tells me they are dealing with more and more examples of outrageous costs. The vehicle is a Lexus and the shop is a Toyota collision center, our dealer doesn’t maintain a collision center and sends everything to the Toyota shop. The nearest SF approved center is an hour away, just inside San Antonio, and not in a pleasant area.



I have a lawyer pal, will call him- thanks.



Thanks, you’re right!

The trim is minor and not really considered to cause delays. The issue is definitely the lack of an agreement. PDR is typically 100/150 per ding per se around here ( depending on size,panel, aluminum and amount of dings)we use a PDR calculator to come up with pricing . 6k isn’t unheard of when performing it all over a vehicle. They should not have brought you in until it was agreed to and parts were in. Parts delays have and will continue to be an issue in 2024. Many shops are overwriting estimates , they have a ton of work And costs have gone up.Insurance companies are trying to save a dime whenever possible. It’s a tough businesses at times.

 

[SID297]

Screw State Farm. 2 weeks after buying my Mustang I was on the interstate and a pickup truck with an uncovered trailer had pieces of gravel flying out of it hit my car in 3 seperate spots gouging the paint.

Had a company number on the side so I called highway patrol and reported the incident. Officer called the company number, located the truck nearby and we met with them. They were cited for failure to secure load and officer noted loose gravel in trailer with no cover. Also cited for a few other minor things. Anyways they had State Farm insurance.

SF denied the claim citing the length of time between the incident and the police report was too long, it was less than 45 minutes. 30 of those I spent waiting for NCHP to arrive. So I guess it’s my fault I couldn’t force the truck off the road and stop or speed up the time it took officer response.

Learned my lesson, don’t ever sign up with State Farm, and dash cams from here on

That’s what attorneys are for.