Getting cash out of insurance company (vs repair)

[sergei]

Hi,
My sister had her mirror smashed by a package dropped by a bike courier.
This is going though courier insurance now.
I have spare mirror for her AE101, and I would rather get cash of quoted repair instead of going through repair with panelbeaters.
The insurance company is resisting.
The company is Westpak insurance.

Is there any chance of her getting cash? How is this process supposed to work?

[Bling]

There probably is a chance. Just depends how much you value your time fighting them if they don't want to pay out cash. I'd just be happy that it's going to be resolved with minimal fuss tbh.

Read up on their policies, they may have it written that cash is not an option and repair must be done. If I was paying out i'd want repair done so it's all square and finished rather than paying cash. But i'm not an insurance company

[2LTR Rona]

Insurance company, like any repair process, has the right to repair in the first instance or if not cost effective write off.

This is not only to safe gaurd you but also to safe guard them so they know the repair was done to X standard of X dollars, its why you (we) pay insurance premiums.

Sure you could probably get a cash settlement but I'd say it'd be a bit of a drawn out process.

Who is not to say that you replace the mirror only to have it fall off two days latter and claim that it was their fault because of a faulty wing mirror? (I know thats probably not going to be the case, however you can see the can of worms that one opens)

[sergei]

Yeah, it looks like some panel beater will get $$$ for 5 min job.
There is no point to do it up to "standard" where the rest of the car is shit, as long as mirror works.

What a waste of time and money.

Inflexibility of insurance companies is why the premiums so high.

[Makaveli]

Companies have to comply with acts such as CGA & FTA. When you carry out work, you are not qualified nor are you required to complete work to a required standard. As long as your mirror gets fixed, I don't see why you are moaning. It seems to me you just want to make a bit of money out of insurance company and they are rightfully reluctant to comply with your demands/request.

Hypothetical scenario: You don't torque the bolts to the right setting & the mirror somehow comes off while your sister is driving on the motorway and it hits a motorcyclist on the head and he/she dies. Who would be liable? I know the odds of this are like 1 in a billion. But things do happen.

[stolic]

Plus.. it's easier for the insurance co. to recover the costs from the bike couriers insurance co (assuming they have insurance) if they wave a copy of a quote and invoice for work done.. rather than just saying we paid some moneys for some stuff.

[sergei]

Companies have to comply with acts such as CGA & FTA. When you carry out work, you are not qualified nor are you required to complete work to a required standard. As long as your mirror gets fixed, I don't see why you are moaning. It seems to me you just want to make a bit of money out of insurance company and they are rightfully reluctant to comply with your demands/request.

Hypothetical scenario: You don't torque the bolts to the right setting & the mirror somehow comes off while your sister is driving on the motorway and it hits a motorcyclist on the head and he/she dies. Who would be liable? I know the odds of this are like 1 in a billion. But things do happen.

You know who will be liable? Driver of the vehicle.
It is just silly, they will bill insurance company around $1000 for the $100 job. I already got the mirror. The panel beater refuses to take my (correct) mirror. If they want to go that way I will make sure they do the job 100%. I have a feeling they will not put right mirror (7 wire mirror) and use more common one instead. But I am speculating at this stage.

I am not whinging about money, I am whinging about doing half-arse job.
I have yet to see a panel beater doing something properly in New Zealand. Even the most expensive ones we used, they would overspray something or forget something, or break half of the clips etc.

[ee904age]

You are probably right in that there is a lot of "corruption" amongst panelbeaters and insurance companies, but in this case I think you are better off to get the job done as the insurance co requires. Then if you find the panelbeater has fitted inferior/incorrect parts, complain to the insurance co and possibly get them to go your way.

They deal with strict paper trails, and buying a 2nd hand mirror off someone and paying them x amount of $ to fit it doesn't fit their standard procedure as opposed to having a preferred repairer do it and supply GST invoices etc for parts and labour.

It's not always the easiest way to get things done, but that's how they work.

[sergei]

Another problem is this going for over a month now. I could have fitted the mirror on the day. Sister has to drive with broken mirror because of stupid bureaucracy.

[Bling]

You could have just fitted it on the day as you say and it would have been over. Though you wouldn't have any cash pay out and may still end up with none. Must be a good pay out you're hoping for lol.

[sergei]

You could have just fitted it on the day as you say and it would have been over. Though you wouldn't have any cash pay out and may still end up with none. Must be a good pay out you're hoping for lol.

No, I didn't had the mirror on the day, as apparently it would be sorted by insurance. I don't hope for payout. I just want it to get sorted ASAP. Hence getting the money out of insurance for the trouble of me going to pick-a-part and getting the mirror.


You know, it is fair to be paid for the trouble even if you are not going to get it fixed.

For example: if some one scratches your car which is already scratched, isn't fair to get a bit of compensation, even if you are not going to paint the bumper? Just for the fact that someone was negligent and caused damage.

[Al]

Inflexibility of insurance companies is why the premiums so high.

We have some of the cheapest insurance in the world. Even after the EQ's.

Wait till some muppet decides it needs to be compulsory. Then watch those parasites collude and milk the captive market for all they can.

[Grrrrrrr!]

Inflexibility of insurance companies is why the premiums so high.

We have some of the cheapest insurance in the world. Even after the EQ's.

Wait till some muppet decides it needs to be compulsory. Then watch those parasites collude and milk the captive market for all they can.

Indeed, if insurance was made compulsory we would get reamed even harder.
One of the reasons insurance is cheap in NZ is that it doesn't actually pay for much. All the expensive stuff is covered by the compulsory insurance we don't call insurance... ACC. Add what you pay in ACC to the cost of your insurance and see if it still looks cheap.

[Al]

/rage Damn you for making me work out I pay $2k a year in ACC /end rage

[Grrrrrrr!]

/rage Damn you for making me work out I pay $2k a year in ACC /end rage

Did you forget to add in the the ACC levy on petrol ?

[Al]

No I added that too. Earner levy, two vehicles, and roughly 1200 litres/year @ 9.9cents.

[Bling]

No, I didn't had the mirror on the day, as apparently it would be sorted by insurance.

Ah, got the impression you already had a mirror. Might just be me that has spares stashed

[sergei]

No, I didn't had the mirror on the day, as apparently it would be sorted by insurance.

Ah, got the impression you already had a mirror. Might just be me that has spares stashed

Nah, I have spares stashed but most of them are blown 3SGTE bits.

[Anth_555]

everyone seems to have the wrong idea how insurance works, the insurance company is obligated to restore the vehicle to the standard it was before the accident or in case of total lost cash settlement as per youre contract with ur insurance company. you are untrained and unqualified in the trade and there for they can not allow you to do the repairs. someone has to where the blame somewhere down the line if something gose wrong. the small fact of a payout on damage means that they are responable for it. there for they must make sure the repairs are done correctly by sending it to some tradequalified, if the panelbeater dose not repair it correctly they liable. when any repair is done on a vehicle we are liable for it if anything gose worng. the panelbeater can not accept your part becouse we are required to put the parts on to partstrader. it owned buy IAG and they have a sucsse fee on every part sold. also we have to have a good reason not to take the cheapest part. insurance tells us what we can and cant do and how much we get paid and we have the lowest hourly rate of the automotive trades. the wrong parts mostly come from you being sent the worng part or the part on the car is not what it had from the factory, or assessors sitting at the computer doing the quote and ordering the parts with out even looking at the car. theres no "corruption" amongst panelbeaters and insurance companies .we do what they say and at the end of the day it comes down to money.

[sergei]

I lost you at "qualified".
I am sorry I have been in the trade long enough to know that most of the people who do repairs are not even close to qualified.

This is not Germany where you have to go to tertiary school to become a tradesmen.

People drop out of school at 16 and become "qualified" panel beaters.

The whole industry is full of cowboys, and you are telling me I am not "qualified"? This is just hypocritical point of view.

Do panel beater get the panel beating "licence", after seating theoretical and practical exams at some panel beater university? (don't answer that).