After crash, Utah driver finds big difference in repair estimates

SALT LAKE CITY — Collin Holbrook was rear-ended over Memorial Day weekend driving in Salt Lake City.

"The guy behind me, he told me, his dog distracted him," Holbrook said.

The other driver was insured by USAA.

Holbrook called USAA, which he says accepted responsibility and directed him to go to its "preferred body shop" for an estimate.

The shop estimated repairs would cost $1,444.66.

Holbrook decided to seek a second opinion, which he says was more in depth.

It was certainly more expensive.

The second shop quoted him $5,491.34.

Holbrook decided to go with that second body shop and, he says, asked the insurance company to pay the higher amount.

He got a check for the amount of the initial bid. But as for that roughly $4,000 difference, he says USAA told him on the phone that the additional damage the second body identified likely came from a different accident.

"They are now saying that that is not their responsibility," Holbrook said.

Holbrook says he protested with the insurance company. He's not been in another accident, he says he told them, and offered to provide time-stamped photos that he took on the day of the accident as well as photos from the second body shop. Without taking that evidence, Holbrook says USAA's representative told him that his case was closed.

"I am frustrated," Holbrook said. "I just want it repaired to pre-collision status as I believe anyone in this situation would."

The KSL Investigators reached out to USAA on Holbrook's behalf. After some back and forth in which KSL spelled out the exact timeline, a spokesperson wrote, "An initial repair estimate does not always reflect the final cost of repairs. The claims process allows for additional damage to be reviewed as new information becomes available."

The day after KSL reached out to USAA, Holbrook said the insurer contacted him and asked to inspect his car and see the evidence of the alleged additional damage.

About a week later, more than two months after the crash, Holbrook says USAA reimbursed the $4,000 difference on the claim.

USAA's spokesperson confirmed the payment writing, "In this matter, the additional damage was validated and payment was issued."

The KSL Investigators asked Utah Insurance Department Commissioner Jon Pike to weigh in.

Speaking generally, not about Holbrook's specific situation, Pike says that after a crash, drivers should take lots of pictures and also get several bids. He suggested at least three.

Under Utah code, a driver does not have to go to an insurance company's "preferred" body shop after a crash, Pike said, though he said doing so can certainly make things faster and smoother.

If a driver feels an at-fault insurance company has underpaid, Pike says they should appeal to the company; make it official, in writing.

When appealing, Pike suggests going through the body shop bids line by line; they often contain lots of detail. Sometimes understanding what is being denied, and why, can resolve a dispute. Or, on the flip side, it can help convince an insurer to pay more.

If, after appeal, a driver is still not satisfied, he or she can complain to the Utah Insurance Department, Pike said.

"If we deem it appropriate, we'll contact that insurance company," he said. "Make sure that they're acting according to state law as well as to their contract documents."

Utah's insurance commissioner says if you are stuck fighting with an at-fault driver's insurance company, consider calling your own insurance company, even when the crash is not your fault, and let it go to bat with the other insurer.

When the other driver is at-fault, your rates are not supposed to go up.

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