Insurance Companies Can be So Frustrating to Work With

I have been practicing injury law for 22 years.  In all that time, I have had more dealings with insurance companies and adjusters than I care to think about.  Most of the time, I am dealing with them for personal injuries or bodily damage claims.  Recently however, I have had to deal with some damage to one of my cars, an older Toyota Tundra.  It was hit in a parking lot by a young driver.  Due to my own schedule, I did not get around to having it fixed right away.  Finally, prior to the Christmas holiday, I decided to have it repaired.  I took it to my repair shop of choice, secured an estimate, faxed it to the adjuster and provided all the contact information for the payment of the claim.  So far, so good.  That was on December 22, 2009.  On January 5, 2010, I get a call from Sharp Image Collision Centers, Inc., saying that the truck is ready.  I am excited.  I tell the body shop to call the insurance company and have them send a check to release the truck.  It could not be any simpler than that, so I thought.

The auto body shop calls the adjuster who informs them that they cannot provide the check because they have not finished reviewing the estimate.  Liability is admitted.  The estimated cost of the repair was sent weeks ago and they still have not reviewed the estimate?  The estimate is a mere two pages and done with the software sactioned by the insurance company.  "So when will it be done?", I ask after taking over at this point.  Maybe several days.  Do they care that every day the work has not been done, they pay more for rental expenses, etc?  They don't.

They blame the plaintiff's lawyers for the cost of injury work.  I say, do an internal look, the insurance companies are hemorrhaging money from the inside.

POST YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE COMMENT SECTION.