Insurance company not paying for repairs after accident

by Kristi

Insurance company not paying for repairs after accident

I was involved in an accident about 2 weeks ago. I was at fault for this accident. There was front end damage to my car. It was drivable after the accident. I had an insurance adjuster do an initial estimate for repairs the very next day. Prior to the accident, my car was in perfect running condition.

My car was in the body shop for 12 days and it is now undrivable. They fixed the cosmetic repairs and repairs under the hood for the front end damage. After the cosmetic repairs were made, they found out that my car would not stay cranked, would idle very badly, and act as though it was fuel starved.

The body shop had to send my car offsite to a mechanic to determine the reason my car was not working. They concluded that 1 out of the 3 converters on my car went bad.

They submitted a supplement to the insurance company and the insurance company denied the claim stating it was not directly tied to the accident. Prior to the accident, my car was running FINE.

I was having no problems with my car. I was under the impression that it was the insurance company's responsibility to return my car in the same condition it was in prior to the accident. They will not pay to have this repaired and I am stuck with a car that is not drivable.

Do I have any rights in this situation? Thank you for any info you can provide!


Answer:

Hello Kristi,

Yes, you have rights. Most insurance policies deny coverage for mechanical breakdown. It's very possible that the insurance company is making that claim. Your damages are due to mechanical break down and not the impact.

This is of course not the case since your car was driving okay before the impact. You may have to lawyer up on this one as insurance companies are very adamant when they believe they do not owe for something (or they don't want to pay for something).

They might be arguing that there is no coverage.

At any rate, contact an attorney to re open the claim. If this does not work, contact the department of insurance and file a complaint against your carrier.

Good Luck,
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com