This Is a Story That Breaks My Heart That a Very Good Toyota Rav4 Customer Had To Go Through

According to the host of the Car Care Nut YouTube channel, there is a new disturbing trend among the bigger car insurance companies―disregarding the proper way car damage claims used to be handled.

"We have this beautiful Rav4 Hybrid. It's a newer one and does not have a lot of miles. A very dear customer of ours… got in an accident overnight, and the suspension was completely destroyed; the car was completely disabled and, of course, could not be driven anymore.

He towed the car to our shop and called me, so we had to go there, figure it out, secure the car, and everything.

But the next day, the customer comes in and looks at the car, takes a few pictures, calls their insurance to start the claim. The insurance company tells him to send them the pictures (without sending an adjuster in to access the damage)."

And then this is when the trouble begins.

Insurers No Longer Inspect Damage But Use Guesstimates and Cheap Parts

During this time, the host explained that his shop made an estimate for the damaged car and came up with a $17,000 repair bill. Partially because the damage is so severe (multiple components including subframe damage) and also partially because when cars come in with front-end damage to this degree, there is a lot of extra work handling the car repeatedly during repairs so as not to cause further damage―not an easy thing to do from his experience, and is one that adds on extra shop labor hours to the estimate.

The mechanic contacted the insurance company with an estimate in hand, but oddly enough, the insurance company did not want to see the estimate and did not want to send an adjuster in to inspect the damage and go over the repairs with the garage as they USED TO DO. Rather, the insurance company told the mechanic they would get back to him later with a visit by an insurance claims adjuster.

When "later" arrived, it was unbelievable.

Rather than an insurance claims adjuster visiting, the mechanic and insurance customer received e-mails stating that the estimate on the car repair had been done, it had been approved by the company, and a check had been sent to the car owner.

Wait. WHAT!

That's right. There was no inspection by an insurance adjuster, and they did not want to know what the garage found wrong or see their estimate of what the cost of repairs should be.

Relying solely on the photos the customer sent the insurance company, their estimate and check reflected:

• What damage they could identify from the customer's photos.
• Their interpretation of the extent of the damage they saw.
• Their estimate of labor hours they believe it should take a garage to do the repairs (half of the mechanic's estimated hours).
• Their estimate of what the labor rate should be for the garage.
• Their estimate for the cheapest used foreign made parts and aftermarket parts they could find to do the repairs with.

By nearly week four, following numerous delays in trying to contact the insurance adjuster to discuss their estimate, the car owner was eventually contacted and told if there were any discrepancies, they could be addressed with a supplement repair form afterward.

Supplement forms are typically done during the estimate process before any final agreements are made and checks sent. Not dong a supplement form before repairs are okayed and begun means the garage can wind up footing the bill for a repair they and a customer did not agree to if they start repairs.

At the same time during all of this, the owner's rental loaner car time period was expiring, leaving the customer having to foot the bill while his car remained unrepaired.

Only after the customer went to his insurance agent was the garage able to have a visit with the insurance adjuster. The visit went bad when the adjuster did not even try to inspect the car aside from taking a few photos with his cell phone. Afterward, a new estimate from the insurance company was sent, showing an even lower claim payment.

Why the Garage Had to Ask the Customer to Remove Their Broken Car

It came down to this: The insurance company wanted to pay the least amount possible to get the vehicle back on the road per their contract with the customer. However, the insurance company's playbook is to intentionally underpay the garage and use questionable cheap parts that not only will not last long but also have the potential to result in rough handling and even pose a danger on the road.

It's a lose-lose-win situation for the customer, the garage, and the insurance company respectively.

The garage had no choice other than to refuse repair. To go ahead and do the repair as the insurance company estimated would have been a loss of money for the work and the risk of putting a customer into a dangerous situation.

The customer also had little choice. Saddled with paying for his rental car to get around, he accepted a garage referral the insurance company found for him that was willing to do the repairs per their low estimate.

For more details about what happened, see the video below.

Car Insurance Needs to Get BETTER! THIS IS NOT RIGHT!

Has This Happened to You?

If you have a similar horror story, please tell us in the comments section below.

• Are you outraged by what the garage and customer had experienced?
• Should we be receiving used and aftermarket parts with our insurance premiums?
• Have you tried what this video commenter said she did when faced with a similar situation?

• Let us know your thoughts on the comments and what has worked in your favor (on not)  when you were faced with insurance claims recently.

For additional car insurance-related articles, here is one that is almost unbelievable: “Fake Bear Video Footage Used to Scam Car Insurance Company” 

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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