What Would You Do

[lizbud]

A crew came out to re-roof my house & garage last Tuesday.They were
subcontractors of this large roofing company.They were super workers &
did a quick & through job on the house.But the garage(with my car inside)
was another matter. Tons of debris felt though the slats on the roof of the
garage onto my car. It was totally covered in nails,dust,dirt and bits of wood
and shingles. It covered everything inside the garage. I was flabbergasted.

Only one of the guys spoke english & I totally forgot which one it was. I
kept walking around & yelling, my car,my car. They all quickly went
around sweeping up & helping to clean the crap off my car.I then called the
company to tell them what happened & they were very responsive & sent
two supervisors out to inspect the car.They were pretty shocked about the
whole thing & gave me money to get a car wash, so the car could be easy
to check for permanent damage. The car did get scratches all over it.

The company insurance guy sent someone out to take pictures & I took
some my self. Problem is they want to get my car fixed at no charge &
I don't know if I should just let them fix it, or should I get my insurance
company involved? Should I also call my insurance company, even through
the roofing co's insurance said they would take care of this?

[Ginger's Mom]

Personally, I would let their insurance company handle it, rather than involving my own. You may not be any happier with the people your insurance company hires, but then you have a claim on your record. No matter which company pays to have it fixed, the final say in whether it is done right and that you will accept the car as completely fixed is your decision, not the insurance company's decision (no matter whose insurance company you use).

[Cataholic]

I echo GM's answer. If it makes you feel better, take your car to a dealer of your choice, or two places even, and obtain an estimate on what it will cost. Then, ask that company for the $$ up front.

You aren't 'entitled' to a new paint job unless you had a new paint job...but, if your car is a 1999, for example (like mine is), and unless the scrapes were super bad, I prolly would just pocket the money. I have no plans on selling my car. It will stop running before it leaves my possession. But, if that is the case with you, and depending on the damage, you might be happier to live with it.

In any event, I would not turn it in to your own company. Even if you did turn it in to your own company, they would pay the claim (assuming you had comp coverage), less your deductible, and seek reimbursement from the roofer's company. If they recovered 100% of your deductible, it would be returned to you (and I can't see why it would be recovered). So, in the end, the roofing company pays the claim anyhow. AND, are you sure you have comp coverage on your car (as it is doubtful this would fall under collision coverage...since you didn't collide with anything ).

[Lady's Human]

Let the roofing company pay to have it fixed, but they should let you do it at a shop of your choice.

Unless the scratches in the paint are through to the sheet metal, it's a cosmetic issue.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Sorry to hear this happened!! I would have been absolutely livid I hope it all works out for you. Thank goodness the roofing company is willing to help so quickly.

[lizbud]

Thanks for the advise. I was upset, still am really.Broke my heart to see
all that crud on my car. I don't want the money, I want my car looking
the way it was before. Anyway, I finally did call my agent this afternoon to
clue them in on what was happening.Told them I don't want to file a claim
and they said they would just make a file reference about the incident and
if I was not happy with how things progressed, they would then establish
a claim for me & persue reimbursment from the roofing company.Either way
my car will be fixed the way I want it.

It is purely cosmetic, no permanent damage, but dang it, I don't want a
scratched up car.