Insurance Claim Repair

Insurance work is most of what happens in this shop, and the part owners most often get wrong is the assumption that they have no choices.

You choose the shop

California Insurance Code section 758.5 is explicit. Your insurer may recommend a repair facility. It may not require one, and it may not condition payment on your using its preferred shop.

This matters more on a large vehicle than on a car. A carrier's direct repair program is built around automotive shops with automotive equipment. Those shops are frequently excellent at what they do and they do not have a frame rack rated for a 26,000 pound chassis, a paint booth that holds 45 feet, or technicians who have measured a coach chassis before.

A carrier that continues to push a preferred shop after you have named yours is operating outside the rules, and saying so directly usually ends the conversation.

Supplements, and why documentation decides them

On large-vehicle work the first estimate is never the final number. The adjuster writes from what is visible, and on a coach the visible damage is routinely a third of the total.

So supplements are normal. What determines whether a supplement is approved in a week or argued for a month is documentation.

We photograph the vehicle at intake, then again at teardown before any part is ordered, so what was found is recorded in sequence with nothing to dispute. Supplements are written and submitted by us with that evidence attached rather than being handed to the owner to argue.

A shop that starts a repair, finds more damage, and then tries to describe it in a phone call is in a weak position. A shop that submits sixty photographs and a measurement sheet is not.

Total loss determinations

A total loss is an economic decision. The carrier compares repair cost against actual cash value and applies a threshold.

Both inputs can be wrong.

Repair cost based on a visual estimate can be understated, which produces a settlement that will not cover the work, or overstated by assumption, which totals a repairable vehicle.

Actual cash value on a coach is frequently understated because comparable sales data is thin, condition varies enormously, and aftermarket work and custom builds are routinely valued at nothing.

If you intend to contest a determination, the material you need is a measured repair figure and documentation of the vehicle's actual specification and condition. We provide both. Our insurance section covers the process in detail.

Aftermarket and custom work

The single most common uncovered loss on modified vehicles is aftermarket equipment settled at base vehicle specification.

Solar arrays, lithium banks, lift kits, custom bumpers, roof racks, interior builds, upgraded appliances. If it is not documented it is generally not paid for.

Bring every receipt you still have. We photograph and document all of it at intake and submit it as part of the scope. On a converted van or an overland build this frequently represents a large fraction of the vehicle's value.

What we handle

Collision claims, comprehensive claims including hail, storm and falling object, water damage where it results from a covered event, vandalism and theft damage, fire damage, fleet and commercial claims across multiple units, and municipal fleet claims with their additional documentation requirements.

We bill direct with Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, AAA SoCal, AAA Enterprises, Mercury, Allstate, American Family, Wawanesa, National General, CSAA, Foremost, Liberty Mutual, Tesla, Cincinnati, AGWS and others.

After an incident

Photograph everything at the scene, from several angles, including wide shots that show context. Get the other party's information and a police report number where one applies. Notify your carrier promptly.

Avoid authorising a tow to a storage yard where you can, because storage fees accrue daily and come out of your settlement.

Then get the vehicle assessed properly before accepting any figure. A settlement accepted before teardown is a settlement based on a guess.

Rates on insurance work

Insurance billed work may be written at carrier-negotiated labor rates rather than our posted retail rates. That is standard across the industry.

What does not change is the scope or the standard of the repair. Where an approved rate will not cover the repair as it needs to be done, we tell you rather than quietly reducing the repair to fit the number.

Estimates are $150 and credited back against an authorized repair.

Rental, storage and the costs that accumulate

Two costs run in the background of every claim and both come out of your settlement if you let them.

Storage. A vehicle towed to a storage yard accrues daily fees, and on a large vehicle those fees are substantial. They are frequently the first thing a carrier deducts. If your vehicle is towed after an incident, get it moved to a repair facility promptly rather than leaving it accumulating charges while a claim is opened.

Rental and loss of use. Many policies include loss of use coverage, and many owners never claim it because nobody mentioned it. On a commercial vehicle this can be substantial, since a truck off the road is a crew not working. Check your policy and ask, because carriers do not generally volunteer coverage you have not asked about.

There is also a timing consideration on both. Loss of use and storage coverage frequently have limits expressed in days rather than dollars, which means a claim that sits waiting for an approval decision is consuming coverage you may need later during the actual repair. That is worth raising with your adjuster directly rather than discovering at the end.