My Car is Wrecked - Now What? Part III

A Brief Word on Towing and Storage

If your car is towed somewhere following the accident, be very aware of who is paying the storage fee. These fees can run as high as $75 a day. In most instances, the insurance company will pay the towing and storage fees for your car. However, in order to avail yourself of this, you will need to cooperate with the insurance company.

Here is what I mean: Because of the high costs of storage, insurance companies frequently want to get your car to a lot where they have pre-negotiated a lower storage rate. The insurance company will pay the rate at the lot your car originally traveled to for a short period of time. However, eventually the insurance company will want to move your car to their lot. In order to do this, they will need you to give either written or verbal authorization to the tow yard permitting the insurance company to move your car. Don’t fight them on this or you will risk paying the storage fees yourself. It is standard practice for the insurance company to request this. I have seen instances where someone failed to provide the insurance company with the release and their storage costs ate up most of the property damage settlement.

What if the Insurance Company is Only Going to Repair My Car?

If the insurance company decides that they are going to repair your car versus replacing it, there are several considerations for you to take into account. First of all, you will need to consider where you will get the car fixed. This is entirely up to you.

The insurance company generally will have a list of approved or recommended body shops. Unless you already have a good relationship with a particular body shop, you will be best served to use one of the shops on the insurance company’s list. It has been my experience that you will have less hassle dealing with a body shop recommended by the insurance company than you would using a body shop not on the approved list. If you aren’t happy with the appraisal amount supplied by the insurance company’s body shop, you can always take the car to get a second opinion at a body shop of your choosing.

If you elect to take the car to a body shop of your choosing, the insurance company will have the right to ask you to get two independent appraisals.

What About Other Items in the Car or After Market Enhancements?

You are entitled to be reimbursed for any items damaged within your car as a result of the accident for which you are submitting your claim. I have recovered damages for ladders, cameras, laptop computers, bicycles, tennis rackets, golf clubs, and luggage racks to name a few. In order to prove your damages you will generally need to provide either a receipt from the original purchase or a picture of the damaged item plus a flyer or some other clipping showing the items current cost.

Again, you are only entitled to fair market value. Things depreciate. For example, you aren’t entitled to the purchase price you paid on a bike that is seven years old.

As far as DVD players, aftermarket wheels or tires, aftermarket stereos or speakers, and other things of that nature, you are entitled to be reimbursed. Again, this assumes they were damaged in the accident or that they have become affixed to the car that was declared a total loss. Again, you generally will not get the full initial purchase price for the item, but you should get something.

Insider Tip: Have you had recent service done on your car? Purchased new tires? Installed a new battery? All of these things can be recovered so long as they increased the value of your car, are properly documented and were purchased near the time of the accident.

A tip for parents: If you had a child or infant’s car seat in the car at the time of the accident, get a new one. All major car-seat manufactures suggest replacing any seats involved in an accident. Insurance companies will compensate you for this expense.