What is a good auto accident settlement? It depends in what kind of accident you are talking about. If your accident only includes damages to your car, then auto accident settlement will not be fair until your car is repair to the exact condition prior the impact. I believe that you still assurances that the car will be covered if there are any related damages later on.
It is not unusual to have your vehicle back from a mechanic with no problems for a while, but then "new" damage starts to occur. What do you do then? Insurance companies and the body shops will tell you that they returned the car back to you completely repaired. They might as far as to claim that this is "new" damage and not related to the accident. This is why is critical for you to have your car re inspected as soon as you get out of the body shop. You can drive from one body shop into another and have them review the work. This will give you peace of mind, and you will learn that your car was fixed correctly. If the car was not fixed correctly, then you will be able to call your adjuster and make them aware of the situation. The insurance carrier cannot claim that this is new damage and would have to review the repairs, and pay for them if they are related to the wreck.
Insurance carriers cannot tell you what body shop you should go to. They can tell you that they will not pay for dealership prices, as they believe those are not reasonable or necessary. The option is completely up to you. The problem is if for whatever reason your car was not fixed correctly, the company will point out that you selected that shop. They will try to shift the responsibility to the shop and let you deal directly with them.
You can always ask an adjuster what are the body shops that are certified by that specific insurance company. They will give you a list and you can pick one. This will protect you in case the car was not fixed correctly. If you are in an "insurance approved" body shop, then you will be able to bring the company and have them deal with their own shop. You can always try to go back and "readjust" the auto accident settlement if you are not satisfied with the repairs. Auto damage settlements do no necessarily work as "bodily injury settlements."
You can also ask for a letter of guarantee. Some insurance companies will give you this letter but only upon promptly request. The effect of the document is that if the labor or parts are not up to standard and the vehicle repairs give you problems later on, then you can get the company to make it right. Remember, an auto accident settlement is more than just getting your car fix right there and then. Try to seek future assurances that the repairs are guaranteed from more than just the body shop but also the insurance company.
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