Body Shop Winter Park
I got in an accident and I don’t want my rates to go up, do I pay out of pocket? If I make the claim, my rates could go up, but I don’t have the money to repair, what If there is more damage? Will my insurance drop me?
Let us help you with this equation!
All too often I’ll have a customer walk through my door worried about making an insurance claim because they fear their insurance rates will go up. Though this is a legitimate fear here’s when you should or shouldn’t make the claim. There are some situations you want to definitely make the claim and other situations where you don’t need to. I’ll help explain when you should or shouldn’t make the claim.
Now when we get sick, we usually see a doctor and we won’t ask if we should go outside insurance. The reason why is because the cost isn’t predictable. The same should be thought when thinking about repairing your vehicle that has sustained Auto Body Damage. Sure, we can write you up an estimate of what we think the costs will be to repair your vehicle, but once we start removing parts it’s very likely we’ll find additional damage. Almost 80% of the time additional damage is found. A rear end hit that only shows minor bumper damage can go from $500 to $2000 in a heartbeat if we have to end up replacing the bumper, rear body panel, and rear reinforcements. This is why we use Insurance, to cover costs that sometimes cannot be predicted.
Now there are also instances where additional damage is highly unlikely and the estimate is less than your deductible. Examples of this are minor fender benders, minor quarter panel damage, and also some door damage. Usually, there aren’t too many components involved when any of the previously mentioned parts are damaged so what you see is what is damaged. Now your deductible is $500 and the fender repair is also $500, it’s best you go outside insurance because it wouldn’t be worth risking rates going up with a repair cost that is equal to your deductible.
Now here’s the thing, if you have money saved up and you’re not worried about the estimate increasing, by all means, don’t make an insurance claim. There are some great insurance companies out there that will predict whether your rates will go up based on the estimate to repair your vehicle. Just remember though the estimate you give them may not be the final cost. Yes maybe taking risks is your thing and if it is, go you! It can be a confusing equation to figure out whether or not you need to make a claim or not, we will be glad to help!
If you’re curious what that Body Damage costs and you need help deciding whether or not to make the insurance claim, we would happily look at your vehicle at no cost to you. Ace Paint & Body Works have been serving the Orlando and Winter Park area for nearly 25 years. With a Lifetime Warranty, you can rest assure that the paint job will last!
Location: 7211 Gardner Street, Winter Park, FL 32792. Tel: 407 678 9100 Email: acepaintbody@gmail.com