Car Accident Property Damage How-to Guide: Preliminary Inspection and Final Estimate

Welcome to our comprehensive guide Car Accident Property Damage: How-to Guide for dealing with property damage following a non-injury car accident.

In this video guide, Andrew Kryder, Chicago car accident attorney and the founding partner of The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers, helps you handle the many factors of a non-injury vehicle accident independently with easy-to-understand steps to manage your claims process independently.

This segment addresses questions about getting a preliminary inspection and final estimate for your vehicle damaged in an accident from repair shops.

Getting a Repair Shop Damage Estimate

“So,” Andy begins, “you’ve set up your claim, you’ve documented your claim, and now you get the estimate back.”

What Happens If They Find More Damage than What the Original Estimate Covered?

He continues, “Some people will ask, ‘Well, what happens if they start repairing the car and they find more damage?’ It’s okay!”

“The estimate that the insurance companies usually do is what they call a ‘preliminary estimate’. They’re going to do a visual inspection, look at the damage, and—based on what they see—they’re going to provide an estimate.”

Revising a Preliminary Estimate for Vehicle Repairs

“But if they later start doing the work,” Andy reassures, “[for example], pulling the bumper off and [realizing] that the frame is damaged, [then] that estimate is going to go up.”

“And when it does, the insurance company, knowing [their client] caused that damage, [is] going to revise the estimate up and give you more compensation because, obviously, it’s going to be more to fix the car.”

Increasing the Repair Shop’s Estimate

“So don’t get excited if the estimate that comes back seems a little low, or you think there might be more damage under the vehicle,” Andy reminds you, “all of that’s going to get sorted out once [the body shop starts looking into the repair work that your vehicle needs].”