Filing an insurance claim is only the beginning of the process. After the claim is opened, the insurance company must confirm coverage, investigate the accident, inspect the vehicle, estimate the damage, and decide whether the vehicle should be repaired or declared a total loss.
The process can feel confusing because several things may happen at once—and the insurance company’s first estimate is not necessarily the final repair cost.
Here is what vehicle owners should expect.
1. The insurance company opens a claim
After you report the accident, the insurance company creates a claim file and assigns a claim number.
Save this number. You will need it whenever you communicate with:
- The insurance adjuster
- The repair shop
- The rental-car company
- The towing or storage facility
- Medical providers
- Other insurance companies involved
The insurer may send an acknowledgment by email, text message, regular mail, or through its mobile app. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recommends contacting the number on your proof-of-insurance card promptly; many insurers also accept claims through a website or mobile app. National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Opening a claim does not mean the insurance company has accepted responsibility or agreed to pay. It means the company has received notice and begun its investigation.
2. A claims adjuster is assigned
The adjuster manages the insurance company’s side of the claim. Depending on the company and accident, different adjusters may handle:
- Vehicle damage
- Injury claims
- Rental-car expenses
- Total-loss valuation
- Damage to other property
- Recovery from another insurance company
Record the adjuster’s:
- Full name
- Direct telephone number
- Email address
- Claim number
- Supervisor’s contact information, if needed
Ask how the adjuster prefers to receive photographs, estimates, receipts, and other documents.
Remember that the adjuster represents the insurance company. Be cooperative and truthful, but keep your own records and ask for important decisions in writing.
3. The insurer verifies coverage
Before paying the claim, the insurance company will check whether a policy applies to the accident.
The insurer may verify:
- Whether the policy was active
- Whether the damaged vehicle was covered
- Whether the driver was insured or permitted to use the vehicle
- Which coverages were purchased
- The applicable coverage limits
- The deductible
- Whether any exclusions apply
- Whether rental reimbursement was purchased
- Whether uninsured- or underinsured-motorist coverage may apply
Coverage verification may be straightforward when you file under your own collision coverage. It can take longer if the driver and vehicle owner are different, the vehicle was used for business or rideshare purposes, or there is a question about whether the policy was active.
4. The accident is investigated
The insurance company will investigate how the accident happened and who may be responsible.
The adjuster may review:
- Statements from the drivers
- Police reports
- Scene photographs
- Vehicle damage
- Dashcam recordings
- Witness statements
- Traffic-camera or security-camera footage
- Applicable traffic laws
- Electronic vehicle data, in some cases
The insurer may ask you for a recorded statement. If you are dealing with your own insurer, your policy may require reasonable cooperation with its investigation.
A request from the other driver’s insurance company is different. You may not be contractually required to give that company a recorded statement. Consider obtaining legal advice before giving a detailed recorded statement when injuries, disputed liability, or a serious accident are involved.
Never guess. If you do not know or remember something, say so.
5. The insurance company decides liability
Liability means legal responsibility for the accident.
The insurer may conclude that:
- Its insured was responsible.
- The other driver was responsible.
- Both drivers share responsibility.
- There is not enough evidence to make a decision.
- Further investigation is required.
The police report may influence the decision, but it does not automatically determine insurance liability. The insurers conduct their own investigations.
State negligence laws can also affect the outcome. In some states, compensation may be reduced according to a driver’s percentage of fault. In others, a certain level of responsibility can prevent recovery from the other driver.
If you disagree with the liability decision, ask the adjuster for a written explanation and the evidence used.
6. Your vehicle is inspected
The insurance company needs to document the vehicle damage before deciding what it will pay.
The inspection may occur:
- At your home
- At a body shop
- At a tow yard
- At an insurance inspection center
- Through photographs submitted with an app
- Through a live video inspection
- Through a third-party appraisal company
An adjuster or appraiser will normally inspect the visible damage and prepare an estimate. California’s Department of Insurance explains that this initial estimate is based on the first inspection; if additional damage is discovered during repairs, the shop contacts the insurer about the added costs. California Department of Insurance
Do not begin permanent repairs before the insurer has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect the vehicle, unless emergency action is necessary to prevent additional damage.
7. The insurance company writes an initial estimate
The insurer’s estimate is an itemized projection of the visible repair costs.
It may include:
- Parts
- Body labor
- Paint labor
- Frame or structural labor
- Mechanical labor
- Paint and repair materials
- Scanning and diagnostic work
- Wheel alignment
- Taxes
- Towing or storage charges
The estimate may also specify whether the insurer priced:
- Original equipment manufacturer parts
- Aftermarket parts
- Recycled or used parts
- Reconditioned parts
🚙Read: Why Insurance Estimates are Often too low
Why the first estimate may appear too low
The first estimate is often written before the vehicle is disassembled. Damage behind bumpers, body panels, interior trim, suspension components, or structural areas may not yet be visible.
The estimate may also omit operations that the repair shop believes are necessary, such as:
- Pre-repair and post-repair scans
- ADAS calibration
- Destructive testing of one-time-use parts
- Additional refinishing operations
- Corrosion protection
- Seam sealer
- Additional labor for damaged fasteners
- OEM-required measurements
- Road testing
- Sublet mechanical work
A low initial estimate does not always mean the claim is over. Additional documented damage is normally addressed through the supplement process.
8. You select a repair shop
The insurance company may recommend one of its preferred or direct-repair shops. These shops have agreements with the insurer concerning estimating, communication, repair procedures, pricing, or warranties.
You may also choose an independent repair shop.
Repair-shop-choice laws and notices vary by state, so check with your state insurance regulator. For example, the Texas Consumer Bill of Rights states that consumers have the right to select the repair shop, while noting that the insurer is not necessarily required to pay more than a reasonable amount. Texas Department of Insurance
Before authorizing repairs, ask the shop:
- Does the shop follow the manufacturer’s repair procedures?
- Will the vehicle receive pre-repair and post-repair scans?
- Are ADAS calibrations required?
- Which types of parts will be used?
- Who pays if the insurer and shop disagree?
- Will the shop contact you before performing customer-pay work?
- What warranty does the shop provide?
- Are there storage or administrative fees?
- Will you receive invoices and calibration documentation?
You—not the insurance company—typically authorize the shop to repair your vehicle.
🚙Read: Can an Insurance Company Force You to Use Their Repair Shop?
9. The insurer and repair shop compare estimates
Do not be surprised if the shop’s estimate is higher than the insurer’s estimate.
The two estimates may differ because of:
- Different labor rates
- Different parts
- Missing repair operations
- Different repair-versus-replace decisions
- Manufacturer procedures
- Scanning or calibration requirements
- Material charges
- Damage found during disassembly
- Different assumptions about the repair
Ask the shop to explain the differences in plain English. Do not compare only the totals. Compare the individual operations, parts, labor categories, and included procedures.
10. The repair shop submits supplements
A supplement is a request for additional payment when the repair shop discovers damage or necessary work that was not included in the original estimate.
The supplement may include:
- Photographs
- Measurement reports
- Diagnostic scan results
- OEM repair procedures
- Parts invoices
- Calibration requirements
- A revised estimate
- Documentation of hidden damage
The insurance company may approve the request, negotiate it, reject part of it, or reinspect the vehicle.
Supplements are a normal part of collision repair. They do not necessarily mean the first estimator acted improperly; some damage cannot be confirmed until the vehicle is disassembled.
However, repairs may pause while the insurer reviews the supplement. Ask the shop whether a pending supplement is delaying the repair and whether rental coverage may expire before the vehicle is completed.
11. Your deductible is applied
A deductible is the amount you agreed to pay toward a covered claim under your own policy.
For example, if covered repairs cost $6,000 and your collision deductible is $500, your insurer generally pays $5,500 and you are responsible for $500.
A deductible usually applies when you use your own:
- Collision coverage
- Comprehensive coverage
A deductible generally does not apply when the at-fault driver’s liability insurer pays your property-damage claim, although coverage and liability must first be confirmed.
Your repair shop does not normally decide whether your deductible applies. That comes from the policy and the insurer’s coverage decision.
Be cautious if anyone offers to “waive” your deductible by altering the estimate, inflating costs, or billing for work that will not be performed.
12. Rental transportation is addressed
Your access to a rental vehicle depends on which policy is paying.
When using your own policy
Rental reimbursement is usually optional coverage. It commonly has:
- A daily limit
- A total-dollar limit
- A maximum number of days
- Requirements concerning when coverage begins and ends
When using the other driver’s insurer
The insurer may pay reasonable loss-of-use or rental expenses after accepting responsibility, subject to state law, claim circumstances, and policy limits.
Ask:
- Has rental coverage been authorized?
- What is the daily limit?
- Are taxes and fees included?
- When must the rental be returned?
- What happens if parts are delayed?
- What happens if the vehicle is declared a total loss?
Do not assume the insurer will pay every rental charge. Get the authorization and limits in writing.
13. The insurer decides whether to repair or total the vehicle
If estimated repair costs become too high compared with the vehicle’s value, the insurer may declare it a total loss.
The decision may consider:
- The vehicle’s pre-accident actual cash value
- Estimated repair cost
- Anticipated supplements
- Salvage value
- State total-loss laws
- Safety and repairability
- Parts availability
A total loss does not always mean the vehicle cannot physically be repaired. It generally means the insurer has determined that repairing it is not economically reasonable or that it meets the applicable state total-loss standard.
If the vehicle is totaled, ask for:
- The complete valuation report
- All comparable vehicles used
- Mileage and option adjustments
- Condition adjustments
- Tax and fee calculations
- Deductible information
- Loan-payoff handling
- Owner-retained salvage options
- The rental termination date
Review the vehicle’s trim level, mileage, equipment, condition, and options carefully. Mistakes in the valuation report can affect the settlement.
🚙Read: Understanding When an Insurance Company Totals Your Vehicle
14. The insurance company issues payment
Depending on the claim, payment may be issued:
- Directly to you
- Directly to the repair shop
- Jointly to you and the repair shop
- Jointly to you and your lender
- Through an electronic-payment system
- Through a network shop’s direct-billing arrangement
If the vehicle is financed or leased, the lender or leasing company may be named on the payment because it has a financial interest in the vehicle.
Do not assume that receiving a check means you must accept the insurer’s estimate as the complete repair plan. Read any accompanying documents and determine whether the payment is an initial, supplemental, undisputed, or final settlement.
Never sign a release you do not understand.
15. Repairs are performed
Once repairs are authorized and parts are available, the shop begins work.
A proper repair may involve:
- Vehicle disassembly
- Structural measurements
- Parts ordering
- Body and structural repair
- Corrosion-protection restoration
- Refinishing
- Reassembly
- Diagnostic scanning
- Wheel alignment
- ADAS calibration
- Road testing
- Quality-control inspection
Modern collision repair is not limited to making the exterior look good. Cameras, radar sensors, steering-angle sensors, restraint systems, and other electronic components may require testing or calibration.
Ask for documentation proving that required scans, measurements, alignments, calibrations, and safety-system checks were completed.
16. You inspect the vehicle before accepting it
Before driving away, inspect the vehicle in good lighting.
Check:
- Paint color and finish
- Panel gaps and alignment
- Doors, hood, and trunk operation
- Headlights and exterior lighting
- Warning lights
- Cameras and parking sensors
- Interior trim
- Wheels and tires
- Steering-wheel alignment
- Unusual noises
- Cleanliness
- Fuel level and mileage
Request copies of:
- Final repair invoice
- Final itemized estimate
- Parts invoices, when available
- Scan reports
- Alignment results
- ADAS calibration documentation
- Structural measurement reports
- Sublet invoices
- Repair warranty
If something does not appear correct, identify it before signing the final acceptance documents.
🚙Read: Diminished Value: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Claim It After an Accident
17. The insurer may pursue reimbursement
If you used your own collision coverage for an accident caused by another driver, your insurer may later seek repayment from the responsible driver or insurer. This is known as subrogation.
If the recovery is successful, your insurer may refund some or all of your deductible, depending on the recovery, state law, and policy terms.
Subrogation can take weeks or months. Ask your adjuster:
- Whether subrogation is being pursued
- Whether your deductible is included
- How partial recovery would be divided
- Whether the insurer needs additional evidence from you
18. The property-damage claim is closed
A claim may be closed when:
- Repairs and supplements have been paid.
- A total-loss settlement has been completed.
- The insurer determines there is no coverage.
- The liability claim is denied.
- The claimant stops responding.
- The insurer believes all known obligations have been resolved.
“Closed” does not always mean it can never be reconsidered. A property-damage claim may sometimes be reopened if previously unknown accident-related damage is discovered, provided the claim remains within applicable policy and legal deadlines.
Report additional damage promptly and preserve documentation connecting it to the accident.
What happens to an injury claim?
The bodily-injury portion of a claim is usually handled separately from the vehicle-damage claim.
It may include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Rehabilitation
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Pain and suffering
- Other damages allowed by state law
Do not rush to settle an injury claim before you understand the nature and extent of your injuries. A bodily-injury release may prevent you from requesting additional compensation later.
Speak with a qualified attorney when an accident involves serious injuries, disputed responsibility, permanent impairment, an uninsured driver, multiple claimants, or inadequate coverage limits.
How long does the insurance-claim process take?
There is no single national deadline for every auto claim.
Timing depends on:
- State insurance regulations
- Coverage questions
- Disputed liability
- Police-report availability
- Severity of damage
- Parts availability
- Supplement review
- Total-loss valuation
- Number of vehicles or injured people involved
- Suspected fraud or misrepresentation
Some states establish specific acknowledgment, investigation, or payment deadlines. As one example, the Texas Department of Insurance says an insurer generally has 15 business days to acknowledge a claim, begin reviewing it, and request needed information under the circumstances described in its consumer guidance. Other states have different rules. Texas Department of Insurance
The NAIC advises that insurers should pay claims within a prompt and reasonable period, but what is reasonable can vary with the complexity of the investigation. National Association of Insurance Commissioners
What if the claim is delayed?
Ask the adjuster in writing:
- What specific information is missing?
- Has coverage been confirmed?
- Has liability been decided?
- Is another inspection required?
- Is a supplement pending?
- What is the next step?
- When should you expect an update?
- Which policy or legal provision is causing the delay?
Keep a communication log containing the date, time, person contacted, and summary of every conversation.
Follow telephone calls with a short email confirming what was discussed.
What if the insurer denies the claim?
Request a written denial explaining:
- The factual reason
- The policy language relied upon
- The evidence considered
- Any applicable appeal or review procedure
- Relevant deadlines
A denial is not necessarily the end of the matter. You may be able to provide new evidence, ask for supervisory review, use an appraisal provision for certain value disputes, file a complaint with your state insurance department, or consult an attorney.
The NAIC provides a directory that can direct consumers to their state insurance department’s complaint process. National Association of Insurance Commissioners
What if the insurance estimate is too low?
Start by comparing it with the repair shop’s estimate line by line.
Look for differences involving:
- Labor rates
- Labor hours
- Parts type and availability
- Scanning and calibration
- Structural measurements
- Paint operations
- Corrosion protection
- One-time-use parts
- Manufacturer-required procedures
- Tax and material calculations
Ask the repair shop to support disputed operations with photographs, invoices, diagnostic results, and manufacturer documentation.
Then ask the insurer for a written explanation of any denied operation. If the adjuster overlooked something or receives new supporting information, the estimate may be revised. Texas Department of Insurance
🚙Read: Why Insurance Estimates are Often too low
Common mistakes to avoid
After filing a claim, avoid:
- Authorizing repairs without understanding the estimate
- Assuming the first estimate is final
- Allowing storage charges to grow without a plan
- Missing rental-car limits
- Failing to document adjuster conversations
- Accepting an inaccurate total-loss valuation
- Signing a release without reading it
- Paying disputed repair charges without written clarification
- Ignoring warning lights after repairs
- Leaving without final scan or calibration documentation
- Discarding estimates, invoices, receipts, or photographs
- Waiting too long to report additional damage
Questions to ask your claims adjuster
Use these questions to stay informed:
- Has coverage been confirmed?
- Has liability been decided?
- What deductible applies?
- How will the vehicle be inspected?
- May I choose my own repair shop?
- What parts are included in the estimate?
- How are supplements handled?
- Is rental transportation covered?
- What are the rental limits?
- Who will receive the claim payment?
- Could the vehicle be considered a total loss?
- When will I receive the valuation report if it is totaled?
- How do I dispute an estimate or valuation?
- Is subrogation being pursued?
- Can my deductible be recovered?
- What must happen before the claim is closed?
The bottom line
After you file an insurance claim, the insurer verifies coverage, investigates the accident, inspects the vehicle, writes an initial estimate, and decides whether to pay for repairs or declare the vehicle a total loss.
The most important thing to remember is that an insurance estimate is not the same as a complete repair plan. Hidden damage, manufacturer procedures, safety-system testing, and ADAS calibrations may not be identified until the repair shop disassembles and inspects the vehicle.
Stay involved, keep everything in writing, review the estimates carefully, and ask questions before accepting a settlement or authorizing repairs.
Need Help Reviewing Your Estimate?
FindCarRepair.com can help you understand the repair estimate, identify possible missing operations, evaluate parts choices, and prepare questions for your repair shop and insurance adjuster.
Visit: FindCarRepair.com
Disclaimer: This article provides general educational information and is not legal, insurance, financial, or repair advice. Insurance policies, claim procedures, consumer rights, and deadlines vary by insurer and state. Review your policy and consult your state insurance department or an appropriate licensed professional regarding your specific claim.
