In WA State. Was in a fender bender a few weeks ago. It took me a long time to actually make contact with my rep. In the meantime, I submitted photos through their estimate portal. The car has continued to be driveable this entire time.
When I did finally make contact with the rep, we made arrangements to have it taken to one of their preferred shops. But the next day I got a text message from my rep saying that the shop had looked at the photos and decided it was probably a total loss and that I instead needed to take my car to a salvage lot for valuation assessment. He claimed the shop was refusing to look at the car in person because it was a total loss.
This all feels REALLY weird to me. They have not yet shared documentation with the new damage estimate (the only one available in my portal is the initial one, where my car wasn't totaled). They have not shared any documentation that shows how they reached the valuation assessment. By law, aren't they required to do so?
My rep is insisting I can have the vehicle inspected in person at an independent shop if I like, but it won't be a Progressive preferred shop, and I have to make all the arrangements to get it there myself – choose the shop, arrange a drop off/pickup time, etc.
Am I right that this is sketch, or is it standard practice?
Progressive said they won't inspect my car in-person at one of their preferred shops
byu/Rebecks221 inInsurance
Posted by Rebecks221
6 Comments
2015 Prius with prior damage and a second loss within 3 months. Doesn’t take much to total it. If you post pictures of the new loss I can provide more insights, but the sideswipe is around $3k worth of damage on a $10k car. Maybe you can owner retain
Completely standard.
Insurance companies and repair shops are absurdly good at repairing vehicles. They also, as a result of the massive quantity of claims they handle, REALLY care about efficiency. They don’t want to take the car to a shop for something they already know.
standard practice. they already know its totaled and arent looking to waste anyones time here. if anything your wasting time by thinking they are trying to screw you. they havent actually officially totaled it yet, the yard is an insurance yard where they send totals for the purposes of being documented and photographed and then totaled or not.
Post up some pics.
Pretty standard I haven’t worked auto PD in years but I’m still probably 95% on calling a total. The adjuster at the salvage yard will actually do the estimate but the shop doesn’t want to spend their time on a car they aren’t going to repair.
Also in WA state, also have Progressive, used to be in claims. Recently went through a total loss myself. Don’t worry, everything sounds totally normal.
In my case, I was like 98% sure my car was a goner so we just arranged to send it to the yard for inspection once the photos got reviewed. But what I was told was that if by some miracle it wasn’t a total after all, they could just take it to a shop from there. That’s just the best/easiest place for them to do the appraisal since typically that’s the final resting place. If you decide to retain salvage, they’ll also bring it back to you. Your adjuster ideally should have explained all that to you.
Once you do send your car to the yard and they look at it, that’s when you’ll get the valuation documentation. Quite simply, they havent inspected it in person yet, all they have is a rough estimate based on photos and lots of experience. Can’t give you what they don’t have yet.
This is not sketch, this is standard. They handle lots of claims and have more experience than you in determining the most efficient way to handle the claim. If they give you the ACV (actual cash value) of the insured vehicle and salvage it to recoup some of that cost, that may be what’s best for them. All they have to do is make you whole, and giving you the ACV of the vehicle now is likely the quickest way to do it. Use that money to find another vehicle of a similar make/model/mileage.