I have had State Farm for almost 40 years from boats, motorcycles, cars, apartments to homeowners .... they have always treated me well. I don't have any type of accident forgiveness, frankly that should be standard and not even an "option". I only made my comment based on what a neighbor who was in mgmt level at Geico told me a long time ago and that once you make a significant claim or get several speeding violations they will drop you. Like I said, that was a while ago. Good luck!

 

Some of you don't seem to understand how some of this works. If the insurance company calls his car a total loss, they will pay him the ACV (actual cash value) of the car, not what he still owes on it. That amount is less than the $25K he owes, he will be responsible to pay the difference to whoever it is financed through.

Claims adjusters use an industry computer program (I forgot what it's called) to calculate the amount to pay for a collision claim. It is based on use of non OEM parts where they are available and cost less than OEM ones. In Texas they can only pay for aftermarket replacement parts if they perform like OEM ones. This is common on body panels.

You can take it wherever you like for repairs. Keep in mind that all dealerships don't have collision repair facilities and may contract it out to a local shop. Also, the dealership body shop isn't necessarily where you'll get he best work. Take it to who's going to do the best job. If your shop charges more to fix it than the insurance company wants to pay out, they'll have to show the insurance company what the extra money is for and that it's legitimate, for example hidden damage that the adjuster couldn't detect before the vehicle is torn down. They will authorize the work and issue a supplement (additional payment to the shop) for the amount over what the adjuster wrote up.

Best of luck OP. There are a number of excellent body shops in the Houston are. Unfortunately there are just as many or more that are crap.

 

I've never been with any insurance company other than USAA. They are a great company. I agree with you all insurance companies should have a standard accident forgiveness policy. However it only added $5 per month for myself and my wife to both have accident forgiveness added to our policy.

Sadly we have both used up our forgiveness one offs this past year. I believe they reset in 2 years. I know they longer you stay with a certain insurance company the lower your rates get. But perhaps you should consider switching companies if Gieco doesn't offer a forgiveness option.

 

Too late to switch after a claim. You can't lie about previous accidents on a new policy application, and even if you do that information will catch up to you via databases that are maintained by Equifax and that all insurance companies subscribe to. If it's caught down the road after you are involved in a future loss (especially a catastrophic loss), you run the risk of having your claim denied and your policy nullified. It's not worth it. 25 years ago, as long as a moving violation was not issued by the cops, it was easy to hide previous accidents or claims simply by not disclosing them. That's nearly impossible today.

 

I thought you were supposed to shop insurance prices every 2 years or something, in order to keep prices down or switch to lower prices?

 

Not to hijack the thread but thanks for the info regarding USAA as I may have to look to them for Health Insurance down the road.

 

Just an FYI/update for anyone in the future who's looking to answer a similar question. Geico came to the decision that they are going to repair my vehicle. The total cost of repair (seemingly final unless rebuilding finds other issues) was $18.5. They didn't total my car bc in Texas the cost to repair must be over 80% of the Actual cash value OR the cost to repair + salvage value must equal 100% of the actual cash value. I'm not entirely sure how much the actual cash value of my vehicle was but the service center and geico hinted that it was $33k+. Hopefully the repair will be done properly and without issues (although I do have a lifetime warranty as long as i own the vehicle). Thanks everyone for your help/insight/comments. I'm glad I'm still pet of the G community, albeit I have to live with the risk of my G never driving the same again 😕.

 

Where did you take it?

 

Geico took it to one of their "auto express" repair centers, I think it's called Service King. They're next to the Infiniti dealership in Houston and apparently Infiniti gets their body work done there as well.

 

Make sure they do a good job. If the accident is noticeable after the repair it means they didn't do a good job and have them keep working on it until it's perfect. Don't be shy!!!

 

Geico shouldn't take it anywhere. You can take it wherever you want. They are not even supposed to steer you to their preferred shop. I don't know anything about them. Hopefully they do a good job.

 

Going with a shop that is in bed with the surety is a huge mistake that many people make, and often they pay dearly in terms of used and aftermarket parts, not to mention quality detriment. Their inducement to use these shops is a "lifetime" warranty on the repair. Total horse**** at the end of the day.

 

This! ^ Don't be afraid to stand up for the car repair you deserve.

 

Glad to see you're okay bro.

 

yay we were right