Help with insurance procedures - fender bender.

[B_Wagon136]

Somebody backed into me in a parking lot on Friday. It was not a severe impact, but it was a direct hit to the chargeport door.

I was sitting in my parked vehicle when it happened.

The chargeport door still opens, closes, and the vehicle does charge, but there is a slight wiggle to the door when it’s closed that wasn’t there previously. There is also some paint damage to the front and a scuff on the chargeport door, plus some gouges taken out of the rubber of the front tire and a scrape on that rim.

I have USAA. So far they have me arranged for a “drive-in estimate” at a place called Fix-It Auto, which they say is a Rivian approved body shop.

I mentioned to USAA how the chargeport door is mechanical and that I will want any necessary repairs being done by Rivian directly. They seemed receptive to this and said the appointment at Fix-It is just for estimate purposes.

Plus, all the sensitivities involved with making sure there is no damage to the charging components beneath the surface as a result of this.

I’ve been able to schedule an appointment with Rivian service for this Thursday. I booked it as a 22,500mi inspection, and detailed the incident in the notes citing I would like specific attention given to the chargeport door and charging components.

I bought this Rivian used in November so this experience with the service center will be my first.

I’m hoping this forum can lend some wisdom as to if I’m following procedures the right way here and if there is any additional advice I need to ensure that the necessary repairs get done by Rivian directly and not some unaffiliated shop that may not know what’s what.

Thanks in advance.

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[CO Riv]

I have been with USAA for over 35 years, and for the most part, they have been excellent whenever I have had claims. But there are a few things to watch out for.

It likely varies by state, but in Colorado, you have the legal right to have your vehicle repaired at any shop you choose. USAA will have shops with which it has relationships and will preferentially direct you to them. I would be careful getting an estimate at one shop and then having the repair at another. This allows USAA to try to cap payments based on the estimate from the first shop. I'm not saying it will happen, but it is a possibility. USAA definitely does this with windshield repair.

What seems like minor cosmetic damage often ends up $thousands more than you expect, with damage found deeper underneath. I would try to have one repair shop deal with USAA directly, as they often come back with additional charges once the repair is underway. All the charges must be submitted to USAA for approval before the repair can proceed.

 

[KBabione]

Somebody backed into me in a parking lot on Friday. It was not a severe impact, but it was a direct hit to the chargeport door.

I don't really understand - it's the other person's insurance who should be paying for this. It's a good idea to contact yours so that they can be your advocate, but this shouldn't cost you anything nor should your insurance do anything other than make sure you're well taken care of.

 

[Eeyore]

I don't really understand - it's the other person's insurance who should be paying for this. It's a good idea to contact yours so that they can be your advocate, but this shouldn't cost you anything nor should your insurance do anything other than make sure you're well taken care of.

That only applies IF he got the insurance info from the other person. If it was a bump and run, then he'll have to rely on his own insurance.

 

[B_Wagon136]

Thanks everyone. The driver eventually did provide his insurance (that part is a long story) and I have now also filed a claim with their insurer, Farmers.

In California, I believe the same rules apply as the one you cited in Colorado (where I can choose my own shop). Is there a way I can force Farmers to use a Rivian Service Center as the “repair shop”?

Do Rivian Service Centers even do these kinds of estimates for insurance? And do they even do the body work themselves or do they outsource it?

I still have my 22,500 inspection appointment this Thursday to make sure there is no underlying damage to the charging components since the chargeport was hit. So far it seems to charge fine.

If the other driver tries to refute fault now that I’ve filed with his insurer, what happens next? There was one witness, but it was his girlfriend.

Gear Guard didn’t capture footage (but I have those settings off).

That only applies IF he got the insurance info from the other person. If it was a bump and run, then he'll have to rely on his own insurance.

 

[Eeyore]

Since you choose the repair shop, there should be no force involved.

Rivian doesn't do body work at their service centers, just mechanical work.

https://rivian.com/support/article/certified-collision-centers is where you look for a nearby Rivian Certified Collision center.

Pick one of them. Contact them with your claim number and they should be able to get things going.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

In CA it usually goes down like so... Provide all info to your insurance and let them handle it. You don't have to go to the other party's insurance at all. In fact, don't. Let your insurance do the work you pay them to do. They also know all the rules/tricks of the trade and are less likely to be steamrolled by the other insurance.

If you don't have the other party's insurance, at least get their license plate. Once, previous car, I got hit in a parking lot by an unsupervised driver on a permit, who could not produce valid proof of insurance (a parking ticket is what she produced). In that case I took a picture of their driver's permit along with license plate to provide to my insurance. They used that info to track down legal owner of car and their insurance.

And if the other party's insurance contact you directly to sign any documents (i.e. going around your insurance), direct them to your insurance and hang up. Also previous car, a kid rear ended me on the 405 near SNA. His insurance, GEICO, kept insisting damage amount is over what the kid was insured for and kept calling/mailing me to sign release forms without offering any sort of settlement. That went on for months.

Also, under CA law, you have the right to take your car to any repair shop you choose—for damage appraisal and repairs. You are not required to take it to one your insurance prefers (whose sole motivation is to keep costs as low as possible, not quality of repairs). Insurance and their preferred shop will try to assure you that, if you're not satisfied, they will make it right. But when things actually come to that, they will try to be as difficult as they legally can. So best to pick your own preferred shop and have things done right the first go.

 

[B_Wagon136]

In CA it usually goes down like so... Provide all info to your insurance and let them handle it. You don't have to go to the other party's insurance at all. In fact, don't. Let your insurance do the work you pay them to do. They also know all the rules/tricks of the trade and are less likely to be steamrolled by the other insurance.

If you don't have the other party's insurance, at least get their license plate. Once, previous car, I got hit in a parking lot by an unsupervised driver on a permit, who could not produce valid proof of insurance (a parking ticket is what she produced). In that case I took a picture of their driver's permit along with license plate to provide to my insurance. They used that info to track down legal owner of car and their insurance.

And if the other party's insurance contact you directly to sign any documents (i.e. going around your insurance), direct them to your insurance and hang up. Also previous car, a kid rear ended me on the 405 near SNA. His insurance, GEICO, kept insisting damage amount is over what the kid was insured for and kept calling/mailing me to sign release forms without offering any sort of settlement. That went on for months.

Also, under CA law, you have the right to take your car to any repair shop you choose. You are not required to take it to one your insurance prefers (whose sole motivation is to keep costs as low as possible, not quality of repairs).

So, interestingly enough, I have USAA and they instructed me to call the other party’s insurance to go through them since they were at fault.

I was pretty surprised by this and felt like they were passing the buck, but they said if I went through USAA the claim would be a hit on my policy and my deductible would apply even though I was not at fault. At that point they would try to get the other insurance company to subrogate costs and eventually get my deductible reimbursed.

This is in CA.

 

[ElGuano]

So, interestingly enough, I have USAA and they instructed me to call the other party’s insurance to go through them since they were at fault.

I was pretty surprised by this and felt like they were passing the buck, but they said if I went through USAA the claim would be a hit on my policy and my deductible would apply even though I was not at fault. At that point they would try to get the other insurance company to subrogate costs and eventually get my deductible reimbursed.

This is in CA.

They were doing you a favor IMO.

You always CAN go to your insurance, and if you do, they will try to get no-cost repair for you by going after the other guy and their insurance. But you have the option of leaving your insurance out of it entirely and going to their insurance to get a settlement.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

So, interestingly enough, I have USAA and they instructed me to call the other party’s insurance to go through them since they were at fault.

I was pretty surprised by this and felt like they were passing the buck, but they said if I went through USAA the claim would be a hit on my policy and my deductible would apply even though I was not at fault. At that point they would try to get the other insurance company to subrogate costs and eventually get my deductible reimbursed.

This is in CA.

Hm. That's quite unusual.

 

[kenyee]

if I went through USAA the claim would be a hit on my policy and my deductible would apply even though I was not at fault.

This is true... Got side swiped and not at fault but it shows up as an "incident" and my insurance went up. Was told by another agent that I should have gone direct instead when I shopped around for lower rates...
And I'm in MA.

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