Currently dealing with a hail damage claim via State Farm. Took the car in a week ago to the body shop to get worked on.
The body shop sent estimates on the damages to State Farm on the 9th. State Farm then issued a check for $2,539 on the 11th regarding the damages.
Today I get a call from State Farm claiming the car is now marked as a total loss and the damages have just magically jumped up to $6,363 as of yesterday.
How is this not sketchy as hell? Has anyone been in a similar position?
Over $4,000 in damages out of completely nowhere.
Posted by DoctorNobody1
4 Comments
did you ever actually get an estimate from the shop itself? I bet its higher than state farms initial estimate. what likely happened is state farm completed a supplement estimate on top of the original after discussing the damages with the shop. thus the cars a total loss.
Estimates are just estimates. The shop sent a supplement. You can ask to see it for yourself and review the itemized repair lines. You can also keep the car with an owner retained total loss settlement and make whatever repairs you want from the settlement, especially if it’s more cosmetic damage.
That’s how they find other issues is during the repair. Then they send a supplement for it. Sometimes that changes the outcome. It doesn’t mean anything sketchy was done.
This isnt sketchy, it’s just how these claims go. The first estimate is usually the “what we can see while it’s still in one piece” number, then the shop gets into it, finds hidden damage, sends a supplement, and suddenly the total jumps.
Hail claims are especially bad for this because once trim comes off and panels get inspected closer, the damage list grows fast. And total loss isnt always about a massive repair bill, its about your cars value, salvage, and the state threshold, not just the final estimate.
Ask State Farm for the updated estimate and the valuation report. This is basically insurance math doing insurance math, not a conspiracy.