Got rear ended back in December, finally got the car back, anyway questions:

1. The car was in the shop for a month, so the battery went dead which I had to replace out of my own pocket. Can I claim that from the insurance company?

2. The insurance company rented me a rental car. My car was fixed on the 9th, and I returned the car on the 10th. The rental company said the insurance company declined the one additional day, so it went to my credit card. How can I claim that from the insurance company?

thanks.

 

What did you insurance company say? Why are you asking us?

 

and good luck getting more money out of an insurance company

 

1) In general the insurance company should handle the dead battery expense for you. Just produce a receipt.

2) Call your claim rep on the extra day with the rental as well and explain the situation and they should knock that out for you too.

After they just got through repairing your car these minor expenses should not be a problem. You may have to move it up the chain of command if you run into problems though.

 

psh...i thought it was a health insurance related claim...can't help ya...

 

Not if he's rented for a full month. OP stated rear ended back in December. Most rental coverage is good for 30 days. So if the 9th was the 30th day, and he returned on the 10th, there's really nothing the insurance company can do. That's all he paid for, that's all they'll give him.

 

updates:

After talking to rep from insurance company, they finally succumbed and agreed to reimburse my extra day of rental.

As for the battery, they told me that I need to talk to the garage who fixed my car and have them file a supplement estimate.

 

Glad it worked out for you. I play an insurance professional 20 days a month. Sometimes you have to push the claims reps a bit but if it makes sense like your situation then they will make it right. At the end of the day your expenses are less than $100-$150 which is peanuts for them.

 

Yes, I agree, $40 probably is not worth the hassle, but it is the right thing for them to do. I was notified that my car was finished repaired on the 9th while I was at work (there was no way I can make back to city to pick it up by 5PM), so I returned the rental car the next day, 10th. It is perfectly reasonable. Besides I would never keep the rental car longer than needed and expect the insurance to pick up the tab.

However, the rep did give me a hard time "WE DON"T DO REFUND, PERIOD... WHEN YOUR CAR IS REPAIRED, YOU HAVE TO PICK IT UP ON THE SAME DAY", and I stood my ground, was very nice but very firm. Finally, she agreed.

But I might have one more battle to fight, we will see if they will honor the supplemental claim on my battery (another mere $64 ).

 

The best way to get insurance companies to seriously consider your request is to file a complaint with the department of insurance... in California. If you do not feel that you were treated fairly or there were some mishandling of claim where you feel that the insurance company fell through the cracks, you should file a complaint. I will guarantee you they will resolve your issue and keep you happy within 48 hours. Insurance companies do not mess around with department of insurance complaints. Believe me... I've been there.

 

Oh yea. That get's them moving really quickly. The last thing I want to hear as an agent/broker is that someone has called the insurance commisioner. Heck, the insurance commisioners office called me with a question and my heart rate doubled. That is the quickest way to get fired in this line of work.