Savage Beatings Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 My wife was in an accident with my car in late December. We filed a claim with our insurance company and they fixed the rear bumper which was torn off. It was basically all just cosmetic. Today (3 to 4 months later) the back end of my car fell and is now resting on the axle. Now I am 100% sure that this was related to my wife's accident, but the structural damage was not seen and was not part of the claim. Does anyone have any experience trying to reopen a claim when something like this occurs? I'm nervous that my insurance company will try to dodge this one, and am not sure what my options are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 My wife was in an accident with my car in late December. We filed a claim with our insurance company and they fixed the rear bumper which was torn off. It was basically all just cosmetic. Today (3 to 4 months later) the back end of my car fell and is now resting on the axle. Now I am 100% sure that this was related to my wife's accident, but the structural damage was not seen and was not part of the claim. Does anyone have any experience trying to reopen a claim when something like this occurs? I'm nervous that my insurance company will try to dodge this one, and am not sure what my options are. Clearly step one is tell your insurer. Step two is very likely a mechanic's inspection to decide on the cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Call your agent. Explain what happened. Tell him/her that you believe that the damage was caused by the accident on [insert date here] for which you have already made a claim. Make a claim. Whether the insurer opens a new file or reopens the old file is up to them. Just make the claim. Then go read your policy. It could go a number of ways from there. There's no real need to speculate, or worry, at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Call your agent. Explain what happened. Tell him/her that you believe that the damage was caused by the accident on [insert date here] for which you have already made a claim. Make a claim. Whether the insurer opens a new file or reopens the old file is up to them. Just make the claim. Then go read your policy. It could go a number of ways from there. There's no real need to speculate, or worry, at the moment. Good advice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 One more thing. Its not too early to assemble all of the documents related to the claim and previous repair. I like to have as much information on hand when I make these types of calls. I'm not sure that it makes a difference, but I want the person that I'm dealing with to know that I got my sh*t right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 They should reopen the existing claim. Otherwise you'll have 2 at-fault claims (assuming this was her fault) going against you for the same accident. And I'd be upset at the adjuster and the body shop for missing this. Imagine this happening at 70 mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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