Makaveli

Okay, so the local insurance company sent me the bill for an accident that happened back in January. I wasn't aware that you have up to 2 years to fix your car after it's been in an accident. So anyways, 7 months later now, I get the bill and it's for 1200$ which is way more then I was expecting (honestly, thought that 700$ will be it)....
So I went to talk to them, and they showed me all the repairs, most of which are pushing it, but okay, and there's one of them that looks really questionable, the moulding or something like that that's situated above the back bumper. I looked at the pics with the manager there, and we were both not sure that there was anything wrong with it in the first place, and that thing cost 170$. My question is, what can I do, if anything because it really hurts to be paying 1200$ for a 20 km/h accident that did more damage to my car then his truck (my car was fixed for 800$)....
Can I do anything???

protetype

why do you have to pay for this? isn't that what you pay insurance for? so they can pay for it.

Chumpman

not in British Columbia, we essentially don't have insurance... cuz if you get in an accident and make them pay, your rates will soar through the roof... the only way to keep your rate low is to pay for damages yourself... and it's a legal requirement to have insurance in order to drive so basically we're all screwed...

Makaveli

Yeah, so if I don't pay for this myself, (I already payed a bit under half) my insurance will jump up by 40%!!!

Pro_fan

Holy crap! ICBC sounds like a bunch of rapists!!

BTW....how come there's only ICBC in BC and no independent companies?

pantherES

DAMN! 40% increase! That sucks man. I thought it was a bitch paying a deductable with no increase in premium.

Makaveli

Well how it works is that you start off at a pretty high price and then you used to get an additionaly 10% off every year up to a maximum of 40% off which turns out to be a fair price in the end (150$ CDN/month now). However, as soon as you get in an accident, they bring you back to starting price, and then any accidents after they add premiums, etc. Just last year they changed it so that you only get an extra 5% discount per year if you don't have any accidents so really I don't have much of a choice.

So anybody know what I can tell them, ask for, etc.....?

Pro_fan

This is sickening...what's the point of having insurance if you have to pay for repairs yourself?? Stupid insurance companies

Actually, I'm not even too sure how insurance claims work here in Alberta (thankfully not yet!!).

Makaveli

How is this a regional thing?????

Toru

The way the insurance works in BC is that you pay basic insurance to ensure everyone else against you. To insure yourself against accidents where you at at fault, you buy extra coverage (called Collision).

So if someone hits you, and you are not at fault, then your rates do NOT go up and the only expense you pay is the deductable.

Of course, it seems mightly rare that ICBC finds that one driver is completely at fault and the other not. They prefer to split fault and take from both drivers.

Fulminatus

ICBC is supposed to approve ALL repairs first. They should not have approved that one.

Go find out what happened.

Makaveli

Hehe, you're the first one it seems that actually read my message.....

I talked to the guy at the insurance company, and he said that he'll look more into the case and he found some photos that they took of the car after the accident. There was a part that didn't look damaged at all and it cost 180$ extra, plus on top they included an hour worth of labour and plus an hour worth of painting for a scratch that was the length of a thumb... small thumb that is.

Is there someone that's responsible for bad claims or who I could talk to about this because out of the $1200+ , $350 are too many, and it makes a big difference as I said earlier since ya know..... that could lead to a very nice tint or be a part of my Mexico trip that I've been wanting for a while now, etc.

Plus the truck that was involved in the accident might be worth 2500$ or $3000 tops.