I will be paying out of pocket to an insurance company for the damage I caused in an auto accident?

This is the deal, the car could possibly be totaled, however, if the auto body shop starts working on it and later the insurance company decided to total it out instead. Who ends up paying for the work up to the point that it was stopped. Since I'm paying for the work or the totaled car. Is it right for me to have to pay for both?


In my opinion it should be either totaled or not?





I don't think it would be fair for me to pay for a totaled car and the unfinished auto body work....

I will be paying out of pocket to an insurance company for the damage I caused in an auto accident?
Part of the answer to your issue lies in WHO authorized the body work, WHY it was authorized and WHEN.





Assuming the insurance company agrees that it is liable for the value of the car, did they tell yo to go ahead and start the repairs. If so, then they likely owe you the value of the 'totaled' car PLUS the cost of the repairs to the date that they said 'whoa'. BUT.. if you took the car to the shop and told the guy to fix it without their blessing, then that is another story and THAT contract is between you and the repair shop.





You are not entitled to betterment in an accident.. only to be made whole. That means that you are entitled to the value of the car just before it was hit and not much else.





It gets better and better.. once you accept THAT check from the insurance company odds are that THEY own the car.... not you .





So.. in theory, the autobody shop would place a lien on the insurance company's vehicle. They could then pay off the lien and then come after you for the money leaving you with even less.





Unlikely to all happen but possible.





You need to sit down with your insurance company (I assume it is YOUR insurance since you have a bit more leverage if you were not at fault and it is the other guys company) and discuss the matter. Perhaps you can solve the problem before it becomes one...





good luck





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Reply:you added details which change my response





The other person is entitled to be made whole and the body shop is entitled to be paid for work to date. . Either way you will have to pay for the other persons car. Once you do that you should own the wreck. Maybe you can work with that..... Report Abuse

Reply:Yes, you'll have to pay for it. If you'd had insurance they'd be paying but since you drove uninsured it's ALL on you now.





Sorry, but there's nothing "unfair" about it. It's one of the risks you assume when you drive uninsured. You brought it all on yourself so suck up and take your punishment like a man.
Reply:Put it this way, Do you work for free? if they put time into it, its time that they could be putting into doing another job. Is it fair? Yes. I'm a mechanic, and there has been a few times I've done a diagnosis on an engine only to have it be woth nothing and needing to be replaced and the customer doesn't go for it. They have 3 hours of diagnosis into an engine that is a write off. Should they have to pay for it? Yes. I want to get paid for it, and if i don't that could have been 3 hours i could have put toward another job and been paid for. No one works for free, fair or not.

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