What are my rights regarding an auto insurer and the repair of my car repair?
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What are my rights regarding an auto insurer and the repair of my car repair?
My car was hit in the front bumper/fender area. The auto body wants to blend the paint from the repair into the driver’s side door, so they asked the insurance company for a supplement. The insurance company is refusing to do any paint blending because there was a dent in the door. The say they will have nothing to do with it because there was prior damage. The body shop is telling me they should pay up, because obviously it won’t look right if the front fender and bumper are new, but they refuse to blend the paint. Blending the paint would only complete the repair and make the car look like it did before the accident. Is the insurance company legally required to fix the door? I’m not asking them to fix the dent, only do their part and blend the paint into the door so it looks natural, not a 2 tone paint jobs.
Asked on December 22, 2016 under Accident Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, unfortunately, the insurer is not obligated or required to pay for any repairs or work on any parts of the car not damaged in the current accident--even if it would make the car overall look better. The insurer only need to repair the damage done in the covered accident or incident, so they only need to pay to repair the damaged part(s). You can, of course, pay out of pocket for the additional paint work--that is, you can supplement the money provided by the insurer yourself.
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