Hello fellas,

I hit a deer, and have full coverage with a $500 deductable.

I called my insurance (ins) company and they have got me set up for repairs, etc at the body shop on July 9th.

At that time, the ins adjuster, the bodyshop rep, and my rental car will be waiting for me.  The adjuster will cut me a check (less deductable) of whatever bodyshop gives as an estimate.  I am then forced to pay the $500 out of pocket.  

I DO NOT have the money to pay my deductable. I AM able to cancel my appointment.

A long time ago (10+yrs) a lady hit me, and it was her fault.  My ins company (same folks) came to my house, looked at my car, then printed a check on the spot.  I then took my car to the bodyshop, they repaired it, and i still had like $600 left over which went into my pocket....I DIDN'T have to pay ANYTHING out of pocket.

I know that the ins company and this bodyshop have a deal worked out, and that setting up this appointment is the ins company's way of ensuring that I pay the deductable...

How do I avoid paying the deductable out of pocket?

I appreciate any advice, as this financial burden comes at a MOST inopportune moment....

~WTS

I don't think you can avoid the deductible. In the other instance you spoke of, you were not at fault so the ladies ins. covered everything. They would reimburse your ins. company.

In this case, it is a act of nature.
My g/f's son hit a deer years ago with my car.
You are just going to need to suck it up and pay the deductible. Get the car fixed when you can.

So you're asking how you can commit insurance fraud? Like the poster above said, suck it up and pay it.

Sounds like your shits still driveable.  Just hold off on the process and fix it when you can afford the deductable.  



Might want to talk to your insurance co. and be sure they are OK w/ a delay.  They may still want to assess the damage now.



You should try to revise your policy so you have a smaller deductable.  Probably translates to higher premium, but might be easier to cover for you in long run.

FRAUD??

I think NOT!

Im simply inquiring how I can effectively use the funds thats are being paid to me from the insurance company.

Having them fix my car, at THEIR repair place may NOT be the best option.  They make it easy for a reason.

THIS is exactly why you LEGALLY maintain your rights to choose a repair facility of YOUR choice.  

DO NOT accuse me of being (attempting to be) a criminal, unless I've actually committed a crime.

Insurance fraud would be filing a false claim, etc....NOT managing my money effectively.

I gave a perfectly normal example of how I was not forced to pay out of pocket in an accident a long time ago...was that fraud?

Im trying to find a way to achieve a similar outcome.  I'm not trying to POCKET any money...Just avoid having to come out of pocket.

I guess I was looking for a reference or personal experience to point me in the right direction...I live in NOVA by the way.

Thanks for the replies.

~WTS

If you have a car, but don't have $500 liquid, you need to reevaluate what's going on in your life.

Do you have a lien on the vehicle ? If you do not then the insurance co. may cut you a check in your name only and you are free to do whatever you wish with the money. If you do have a lien then they cut a check made payable to both you and the shop. Now, even though they have set up an appointment with the shop you are still free to go elsewhere for repairs. The reason they set the appointment with that particular shop is that shop is on their Direct Repair Program which makes everything a lot easier and more efficiant between the insurance companies and the body shops. They will still cut the check to both you and the shop that you choose and you are still liable for the deductable before the shop will release the car back to you. When there is a lien on the vehicle, the bank wants to make sure the car is repaired in case they have to repo it down the road. They dont want to have to auction off a damaged vehicle. Thats why the check is made to both parties. You may not like it but that is how life works. So, the basics are : you are free to have the repair done wherever you choose, the check will be made to you and the shop of your choice, you pay the deductable. Now, you can restructure your policy to allow for a lower deductable but as stated above, your premium payment will most likely be higher.

Costanza- I'm a 32 year old college educated white man who has a mortgage and student loans, and who is long overdue for a raise.  That's my evaluation. Thanks for your concern.

Commander- Great explanation! I'll have to get a quote on the $250 deductable

No lien on the vehicle. It's an 06 Hyundai Sonata, and is paid in full.

So should I cancel the appointment, have them cut me a check, then shop around for a reputable shop that will do the work for whatever the ins company cuts the check for?

~WTS

let the insurance company cut a check to you then you can shop around for whatever shop you want. the shop may want to do their own estimate which could be cheaper or more expensive than what you get in the check. your check should be the amount on the adjusters estimate minus your deductible.

call the repair shop and tell them of your problem of not having the $500 for the deductible. they may do the repair and "discount" the bill so you will pay less than your full deductible.

happened for my daughter when her car was hit in a parking lot - the insurance co cut a check to the repair shop for the total repair less deductible, and she paid the difference. the repair shop agreed to do the work for $200 more than the ins co check to get the job in their shop.

Any way you could find $500 worth of parts (as in, $500 worth of parts from the body shop) yourself?  Not sure exactly what is wrong with it, but you could probably go to a junkyard or two and pull off headlights/grilles/radiators/bumpers and use "owner provided parts" that will be significantly less than the body shop will charge you for.

Yeah, unless you either drive it the way it is, or have the body shop fix it your gonna have to find the $500 somewhere.  The body shop may work out a payment plan or something, but there's not much way around it.

I'm just thankful I have State Farm, as well as my father, and they classify deer hits under "Act of God"  My dad smacked a deer last summer with his equinox, figured he was going to be out the $500 but the lady at insurance told him deer hits were now classified different, and he owed nothing....

Deer are Comprehensive Claims under State Farm (if I understand my policy at all, which I don't, I just know the damn thing is lined in gold, or at least plated 14k). Deer are a $0 deductible under my policy. When I had the collision with a deer in April I was worried because most places don't include Comp. if you dont have Full Coverage (as is the case of my $700 97 Jetta). Lady at the office took my claim and the first shop, Ford Dealer, nearly totaled my car (Repairs at 97% Assessed value), second shop, VW Dealer, quoted about 90%. Only complaint I had with the whole claims process was that instead of offering me the option to go to the VW dealer (a preferred shop) they offered 3 other shops, all in the same city as the VW dealer I needed to choose from. Well that and they keep trying to send me almost to Lynchburg to get the quotes done ( How many times must I tell SF, I work in Roanoke, so driving to L-burg isn't an option, even if he did work to my standards).

OP get multiple quotes, in writing, before going to the "Preferred Service Provider". You have the right to choose who works on your car and who doesn't. When the preferred guy hands his quote over to the adjuster be sure to hand over at least 3 other quotes (High, Low, and Where you want to go). You then get to pick where it goes from there, many body shops will allow for payment plans (even if it is 1/2 down and 1/2 when you are satisfied, never ever leave a body shop without being 125% satisfied, when the insurance is paying 99% of the bill, I fought over having my hood replaced even though there was pre-existing damage, new VW hood cost 1/2 the cost of the labor to fix the existing one)

First rule, don't let the insurance company pick your repair facility.
 

Yep, I know under SF, they have preferred shops, but you have your choice, and you can take it wherever.  The shop I always use just happens to be a preferred shop, and they do damn good work, good thing is it's not even 1/4mi from my house.