Insurance Hijinks
A couple of weeks ago a woman rearended my wife because she was in a hurry to beat oncoming traffic in a left turn, and my wife wasn’t. The damage was mild, a cracked bumper and chipped paint. Initially the woman asked to pay for the cost of repair but sent it to her insurance company, American Family, after hearing the costs for repair and the rental car.
The preferred bodyshop that quoted the repair specifically indicated that the bumper should be replaced with new and not a refurbished bumper. But the American Family adjuster flat out told my wife that if we wanted a “new” bumper instead of referbishing the one their client cracked, it would be up to us to pony up the difference. The adjuster went so far as to state “we’re not paying for it” in quite a rude manner.
To add to the insult, no provision is made in the adjusters quote for possible hidden damage. A cars bumper is mounted on mounts that are meant to crush in a controlled manner in an attempt to minimize damage. It is typically necessary to replace these mounts after an accident even though no damage is apparent. If these are not replaced there is an excellent chance that the next time they’re hit they will not perform their job correctly due to the unrepaired damage from the previous accident.
Now, to me a few dollars isn’t enough to cause me to get my blood pressure up. But this whole thing has me more than a little irate. It was American Family’s client that hit us. The woman that did the damage was very open about that and in the presence of law enforcement. We are the damaged party and the responsibility to make us whole again goes well beyond putting some putty in the crack and applying a fresh coat of paint.
So, if you see my wife running around town this summer with a section of paint peeled off a cracked rear bumper, you’ll know it’s because I’ve taken this into litigation. If that’s what it takes to make American Family make it right, the right way, then so be it.