Regardless of the actual problem, the first thing you’ll want to do is gather any evidence that supports your reasons for why you deserve more money. Send those along with an email or letter explaining the issue to your agent. If necessary, escalate the issue by contacting the department manager. If your issue still hasn’t been addressed, then reach out to the vice president of consumer affairs. And if you’ve exhausted all these avenues within the company itself, you can get in touch with your state’s insurance department. If things still aren’t settled after all this and the amount is less than $5000, small claims court is a viable option. For any amount, you can also consider using the appraisal clause in your policy. If you go this route, you and your insurerwill bothhire your own appraisers. You’ll also split any other associated costs. If the appraisers don’t agree, theymay have to bring in anumpire. Ultimately, this process is just to figure out the value of the damage. Your final option is to go through arbitration, which is often similar to the appraisal process. The main differences are that arbitration involves investigations and, rather than focusing on the value, they determinewho’s at fault. Keep inmind that in some locations, the appraisal clause may be equated with arbitration. As with so many things related to insurance, this varies by state. By the way, there’s a good trick to speed up the process, regardless of which route you choose: Report the claim to the other driver’s insurance company. If you need a rental car, consider renting one and letting them know. This often causes them to speed up the process because they don’t want to pay for that rental car any longer than necessary! • • •
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