A very common question from customers is, “How can I save my deductible?” People have heard and seen shop ads, “Save your deductible.” This is not always as straight forward as you would think.
Know the Risks of Saving Your Deductible
Most shops that save deductibles, do it by billing the insurance company for different work than they perform. This is illegal for the shop and may be insurance fraud for you. You should understand the risks of this before you agree to save your deductible.
Most insurance policies are written to require you to pay your deductible before the insurance pays the first dollar. That means, contractually, any discount goes to the insurance company.
Can I save My Deductible Honestly?
It’s always best to do what you can and find a way to pay the deductible and get the work done correctly and completely. However, if you have no other options, there are a couple of tricks that might save you at least part of your deductible.
One way to save is to purposely not repair some part of the damage. Most insurance companies will allow you to take all or part of a parts cost in what the call an, “appearance allowance.” An appearance allowance is where you think you can live with a piece that has a blemish and it’s legitimately part of the claim. By law, the insurance company has to pay for it and most don’t mind appearance allowances. Some even encourage it, because they know it can take a lot of strain off of a customer. An example of an appearance allowance might be a wheel or headlight that have a small scratch, but it really doesn’t look any different than the other wheels or light but the damage is from the accident.
Not every car is right for an appearance allowance. If your car is newer and it will diminish the value of your investment, you may want to find another way. It never hurts to ask a shop about it though.
If you have questions about your deductible stop by any Collision Pros shop. We are located in Auburn, Chico, Paradise, Red Bluff and Woodland.
[…] Often when you are in an accident there is a part or two that have a small amount of damage that you can live with, but your insurance is required to pay for it. This is something like a wheel or a light that have a small scratch or chip. All insurance companies and auto body shops are aware of what this is. Ask them if you can save on your appearance allowance. You can learn more about saving on an appearance allowance on this article. […]