BURYING
THE DEDUCTIBLE
From time to time, we are all faced with requests from car owners to
"bury the deductible" where automobile damage is covered by
collision insurance.
Before the vehicle owner takes the collision-damaged car around the corner
to someone who will bury the deductible, the car owner should consider
the following points:
- Conspiring to "bury the deductible" is committing a fraud
upon an insurance company and is against the law.
- Insurance company appraisers know the cost of repairs, as well as
body shops, and cannot be fooled by inflated estimates.
- If a shop agrees to "bury the deductible", it has to take
shortcuts in making the repairs and the owner could get a second-rate
job, which depreciates the value of the car at trade-in time.
- A shop willing to cheat an insurance company will be equally willing
to cheat the car owner. A shop rarely absorbs the deductible. The value
is taken right out of the job and it's the car owner who takes the loss.
- If the shop decides to cut corners on the job and it ends up being
second-rate, the owner has no one to complain to if he or she conspired
to "bury the deductible".
- All leases have an obligation to return a leased or financed vehicle
back to its pre-accident condition.
The smart thing for owners to do is to protect their investments by getting
a first-class job from a first-class shop and to be glad that all they
have to pay for is the deductible. IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN WIN.
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Burying the deductible
Choosing the right collision
repair shop