My 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee was hit while parked and the person’s insurance covered the body damages which was about $4000 total. The front left side was hit, which resulted in a new door, fender, bumper, headlight, and some other small trim pieces. After I picked the vehicle up last week, I noticed that the air bag suspension was having troubles bringing the vehicle to normal drive height all the way home, called the insurance company(state farm) and they paid for another tow to bring my vehicle back to the shop to have them inspect it to see the what the issue was and if related to accident. They called me afterwords, said they put my truck up in the air, and seen that the back left airbag was ruptured and that it looked like it ruptured due to wear but he couldn’t say for sure if the accident ultimately caused the rupture or not and said he called State Farm to let them know and see if they will cover it and that they wouldn’t tell him either a yes or a no. What should I do? I don’t want to have him fix it and then be charged $1700 if State Farm won’t cover it. It did not have any issue prior to accident and so shouldn’t they pay for it, even if wear was part of the reason it ruptured, couldn’t the accident have made it rupture soon that it would have naturally? Looking for car gurus and insurance experts that might have an answer please thanks in advance.
You would think common sense would dictate that if the airbag wasn’t damaged before the accident, that the accident must have contributed to it’s failure.
But, insurance adjusters aren’t trained to use common sense. They’re trained to pay out as little as possible on a claim.
Good luck!
Tester
are you dealing directly with the other insurance (State Farm?) Or is your insurance company dealing with the other insurance company?
State Farm has lawyers on their side to argue this stuff. do you?
We are not legal talk. I’m not sure how any left rear damage can be attributed to left front damage, but I know zero details of this accident.
Let your insurance handle dealing with the other insurance, or get lawyers involved to handle this.
Or pay for your own airbag repair.
+1
My insurer always handles the interface with other insurers. They want to know immediately if anyone representing the other party contacts me.
You need the airbag repair in any case. That is not optional.
The rest is just arguing with the insurance company but as @jtsanders posted, that is your insurance company’s job.
I have that problem w/insurance agents from time to time. When it happens to me I mail a signed & dated letter to the agent and ask for a written reply. That’s usually works. Sometimes they still try to just answer w/a phone call. If so, I’ll politely listen to what they say, then again I’ll ask for written confirmation. May take some time, but has always worked for me.
My Brother-in-Law (now deceased) was an auto mechanic, he went to an automotive trade school in the 60s, but by the late 80s he gave up the mechanical work and he became an insurance adjuster. He had no training in auto body repair, and the insurance company only trained him in the office on the paperwork, and he did this for about 10-years…
You wrote that you contacted State Farm and they turned you down. Was SF the other’s person’s insurance, your insurance, by chance both having the same insurance? I’m guessing that you did not have collision on this 12-years old vehicle.
Perhaps you need to contest their finding, in writing; perhaps even hiring your own accident investigator…
Maybe they are waiting for the adjuster to review the pictures to determine if the rear suspension was lower than normal after the collision.
It is not unusual for suspension airbags to fail after ten years. If the airbag failed while the vehicle was parked at the body shop, who is to blame?
I have seen insurance companies pay for unrelated repairs when in doubt, so discuss this problem with the insurance company, you might prevail.
That’s actually not true. If insurance is covering it, then a “by-the-book” repair with OEM parts, or equivalent, is needed. If not, it might be cheaper and better to remove the air suspension and install conventional shocks and struts. There are kits available for many models which include the shocks, struts, springs, and other necessary parts.
Email from the insurer is written evidence of contact too.
Agree that it could be converted but the repair is still not optional