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That moment a customer's insurance denied the whole job after we already started
Had a 2018 Civic come in last Tuesday with rear end damage from a parking lot hit. We tore it down, ordered the quarter panel and bumper cover, got the old metal cut out. Then the adjuster shows up and says there's frame rail damage they didn't catch in the initial estimate. Insurance flat out denied the supplement because they said we should have caught it before cutting. Now I'm sitting on a car that's half disassembled with no authorization to finish. Took me two days on the phone to get them to send a field adjuster back out. The extra metal work added about $900 to the total. Has anyone else dealt with insurance pulling a fast one like this after work started?
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bettym8914d ago
Three hundred bucks for a rental car sitting in my bay while I waited for insurance to approve a $900 supplement. I swear adjusters get paid by the denial, like they get a bonus for every shop they drive into early retirement. Had a similar thing happen with a Kia Soul a few months ago, they denied a hidden rail pull saying we should have "suspected" it from the initial photos. Yeah, because I always prepare for mind reading on top of frame straightening. The best part is when they finally sent the field guy out, he approved it in five minutes and said "yeah, that's pretty obvious." Makes you wonder what exactly they teach those people in adjuster school.
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parkernelson13d ago
Oh man, "paid by the denial" - that line hits so close to home. I had almost the exact same dance with a Chevy Malibu last spring, sat on a $1,200 sublet that the adjuster swore wasn't necessary. They kept saying "just try pulling it in house" even though my frame machine was booked solid for two weeks. Finally caved and sent photos to a field rep, who came out and said "yep, that needs sublet" without even looking at the car for more than three minutes. It's like they're trained to say no first and then act surprised when the actual evidence shows up. And the mind reading thing? I've had them deny labor for removing a bumper cover that had hidden damage, saying I should have "anticipated" it from the paint bubbles. Like yeah, let me just whip out my crystal ball between writing estimates and answering parts calls. Makes you wonder if adjuster school is just a week of "how to frustrate shop owners" and then a test on denial letters.
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