Someone without insurance hit me. How does that work?

If you have been hit by someone who wishes to pay for your repairs out of pocket rather than using their insurance, it is important to remember the following:

You only need to submit one estimate for repairs from the repair facility of your choice. To ensure you maintain control over where and how your vehicle is repaired, select a repair facility that you are comfortable with.

• Notify the shop of your situation so you can obtain as thorough an appraisal as possible.
  
  
• Present that estimate only to the paying party.
  

Although individuals, as well as some insurance companies, will tell you to obtain multiple estimates, you have no legal obligation to do so, and submitting multiple quotes leads to the following complications:

• When the party paying for damages is not the party who owns the car, they always select the lower of the 2 prices without regard for what those differences might be. You, the vehicle owner have other concerns besides the direct cost of repairs.
  
  
• Auto Body shops, like most other service businesses, proclaim to differentiate themselves on "quality". Quality can be defined in many different ways.
  
  
• At Marshall Auto Body, quality is defined as an invisible repair, warranted for as long as you own the vehicle, at a price that satisfies your economic objectives in restoring the car to pre-accident condition.
  
  
• Let the person estimating your damages know that another individual will be paying for your damages. You may choose to get a few different opinions before submitting the repair estimate of your choice to the party paying for your loss.
  

Even relatively minor damages can produce estimates varying widely in costs.

• Depending whether the parts are repaired or replaced.
  If replacement parts are OEM, used, or aftermarket.
  
  
• Whether trim is removed so paint will adhere permanently, or whether it is masked with tape, all have effects upon repair cost.
  
  
• The age of your car, how long you plan to keep it, how important some of the aforementioned repair options are to you, all need to be properly addressed by the repair shop of your choice to ensure that you get what you want as the vehicle owner.
  
  
• Only when the repair shop has appropriately explained options available to you, and you both have a mutual understanding of what "quality" level will be implemented upon your repair, do you actually have an estimate that will accurately reflect the cost of repairing your car to a level with which you are satisfied.

Once you have the estimate from the facility with whom you have decided will repair your car:

• Submit only that estimate to the paying party
  (whether an individual, a corporation or insurance company)
  
  
• Should they object or are not able to come to an agreement
  
  
• Submit a claim with your own insurance company.
  
  
• Your insurance company will honor the repair facility of your choice.
  
  
• They will initiate a subrogation proceeding in attempt to recover monies owed by the party at fault.
  
  
• They will have to pay your insurance company back.
  
  
• At this point, most difficult crashers turn the claim into their own insurance (if they have insurance), and their company will take over the claim and pick-up your rental cost. The repair ends up the same in the end for you anyway.
  
  
• Understand that the estimate is just that. Your estimator will let you know where hidden costs may arise, especially if some of the damage cannot be seen without disassembling the car to inspect it.
  
  

If you need alternative transportation while your car is being fixed, we will make the necessary arrangements for you. Your estimator will provide you with a cost per day for a loaner vehicle to add to the amount they will owe you.

All payments should be made to you. Often times the person who inflicted the damages wishes to pay the repair facility directly. This is fine, however, you as the car owner are ultimately responsible for payment since you own the vehicle, you authorize repairs, and you ultimately need to be sure that payment is made good for the work done to your car.

We recommend that if the other party wants to pay the shop that they utilize a credit card rather than a check as verification of funds. A credit card allows the paying party to easily cover supplemental charges should they arise once repairs are underway.

If there are ever any questions regarding this scenario or any other concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us with details so we can provide you with the best advice (we've seen it all) to achieve an efficient solution to the problem.