Eric
Chicago,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, May 04, 2003
I'm an adjuster in for an insurer who does business in the Chicago metro area. I'm also pretty familiar with ASI, but I'll go into that in a moment. First and foremost (and I realize that no one is probably ever going to be able to convince you to the contrary), ASI *is* correct in assessing two deductibles if the facts are as you've presented them.. There are two distinct losses: 1.) an accident which falls under collision coverage; and 2.) a partial theft which falls under comprehensive coverage. They may appear to be related due to a sequence of events, but they are distinctly seperate incidents. That said, I'm not here to defend ASI. They are a sub-standard auto insurer who write high risk auto policies. Like the majority of sub-standard auto carriers with whom I've had experience, they can be pretty difficult to deal with. As such, be VERY careful about how you approach any supplemental repairs to you vehicle. The original shop is the shop that *should* do any supplemental work on your vehicle, esp if there's a potential issue regarding workmanship. If you elect go to a different body shop, don't expect your carrier to pay for the repairs... especially if the repairs are completed without one of their appraisers looking at the claimed damage. Take a moment and read your policy, because there will be a clause, probably in the [Insured's] Duties section that will spell it out for you. As for any of the aftermarket parts, check with your agent to see if he knew about them. I've had it come up before where an insured will have an accident and the brush guard, which was placed on the vehicle aftermarket, was damaged. If we KNEW about the brush guard prior to the accident, and 'special equipment' coverage for it was purchased prior to the loss, then I could go ahead and pay to have it fixed. BUT, if it's aftermarket and there's no 'special equipment' coverage, then 1.) how do we, as an insurer, KNOW to insure it; and 2.) no premium has been paid to insure it. So.. if your carrier doesn't KNOW to insure your aftermarket parts and you have not PAID to insure them, then they are not insured. So my advice is to definitely check with your agent and see if you had coverage specifically for those parts, and if not, then purchase it. Hope all or some of this helps. Take care.