I recently took in a job that was had the claim delayed due to an investigation to determine if the claim was legitimate. It took the insurance company approximately 17 days to "clear" the claim and give me the go ahead. I subsequently filed a supplement for towing and 17 days of storage while I waited on them to clear the claim. They denied the storage and all but $50 of the towing saying the policy holder did not have this type of coverage in their policy. My feeling is that the policy holder or myself should not be responsible for storage while they delayed the claim for validity. Any suggestions, comments?

you dont have a contract with their customer. yours is with the insurance company directly. it is of no consequence to you what the policy covers.

if they stored the car at your place then they pay. they may have guidelines on daily rates and towing charges but they have to pull some wonga ($$$$) out!

now if the customer went to you directly then the above may not be applicable.

I guess there are several different ways of looking at this situation. If you stored the car for 17 days and then were informed by the insurance company that the claim was denied and they would not cover any repairs then YES they should pay you the storage for 17 days. BUT you did get the job so the prudent thing would be to not mess with them about paying storage. If you treat the insurance company well and they like your work they can be a potential steady source of work (they could "steer" their customers to you). As far as the towing -- Its up to the car owner to pay you for the towing and then its up to him to try and get reimbursed by who ever he thinks should reimburse him.

When in business its possible to be penny wise and pound foolish. Forget the storage and try to be make friends with the insurance company. In this bad economy it doesn't make sense to alienate a potential good long term source of income.

I imagine you pay insurance to cover any damage to vehicles left in your car and control. If something would happen I'm sure that insurance company would hold you liable so they owe you for that protection. It's true you have to work with the insurance company but they have to work with you as well. If they like your work they'll keep you on the books and if you let them dictate what you get paid then they'll be playing games forever. As for the towing that's a bill you paid so the insurance company pays you and they collect off their customer. The contract was between you and the insurance company so you have no legal demands of the car owner.

Rafsen wrote:you dont have a contract with their customer. yours is with the insurance company directly. it is of no consequence to you what the policy covers.

if they stored the car at your place then they pay. they may have guidelines on daily rates and towing charges but they have to pull some wonga ($$$$) out!

now if the customer went to you directly then the above may not be applicable.

The insurance company and insured is named on the policy. There is NO contract between the insurance company and repair shop. Usually there is no storage charged when the the shop will be doing the repairs.
Try and find the name of a repair shop on the insurance policy.