Auto insurance adjuster -the assessment is too low - what do I do now?

I was in a crash where I was rear-ended last week. The car behind me was held responsible, their insurance will pay. But - I was told by their insurance, which is AllState, to take my car in to an AllState adjuster's office to have it looked at. The car is dangerous to drive, one whole light assembly is broken at the back, but I did drive it to his office. Then the adjuster told me the damage would cost $1500 to mend, and gave me a written sheet with details on it. He told me to give this to any auto body repair shop of my choice. I had already got one quote from an auto shop - they said $2500. What should I do? I am worried that the quote is really low from the adjuster, and no body shop would do the work for that little. Should I do as the adjuster wanted, and give his quote sheet to another autobody shop, and get them to quote based on that - or should I not mention the adjuster's quote, and get more quotes without it?I just have this instinct that AllState are trying to rip me off!

Directly from Allstate.com:

What happens if my repair shop find additional damage?

If you have selected a Sterling Autobody Center™ or Priority Repair Option (PRO) shop to repair your vehicle, additional damages discovered during the repair process will be handled directly with Allstate. If you’ve chosen not to use a Sterling Autobody Center™ or PRO shop, your repair shop should contact the claim representative who wrote the original repair estimate so additional damage can be taken care of. If, however, the shop contacts you directly, please call your Allstate claim representative about additional damages and costs.

On a personal note, I was in an accident with someone who had Allstate. I took my vehicle to the drive in Allstate center in my area & they estimated $450 - even though the real cost was around $1500. I think they do this because a percentage of people just cash the check & don't get anything fixed. But, in my case, I took it to the shop & they negotiated with Allstate and ended up paying $1500. So, just take it to the shop & they will take care of it for you.

Take Care,

Ron @ InsureMe

Auto Quotes: http://www.insureme.com/landing.aspx?Refby=614996&Type=auto

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Take your vehicle to any body shop you choose, give them the estimate Allstate wrote and let them fix your car. (did you ever think that maybe the estimate from the shop is too HIGH?). If the shop can show the insurance company additional damage or needed repairs they will pay you.

Kick the adjuster in the balls.......... see if he still views things the same way then.

Ask Allstate to recommend a shop. If you are comfortable with that shop, go there. Otherwise, get 3 quotes from 3 different shops. If they are higher than the adjuster's, tell him and request he restate his estimate. Adjusters and shops use the same books to calculate the cost. Either he is low because he missed something, or your shop is high. Either way you need at least 3 estimates to decide. Make sure the shop is aware it is an insurance quote. If it turns out he is low, call his regional supervisor and complain. Your agent should help you. It may be he is an Estimator and not an Adjuster. I had that happen and after putting $2500 in parts into the car, it had to be totaled. DO NOT sign off on repairs until they agree to pay the entire cost. If you can, get your agent involved. If he won't help, let him know you will be shopping around for a new agent!

You should take it to any shop of your choice, and give them the paper Allstate gave you. If there is any problem the shop will work it out with Allstate. You don't need to get 3 estimates, in fact you don't need to get any estimates, just take it in and get it fixed.

The shop's estimate is too high. Just take the insurance estimate to your shop and ask them to do the repairs for that amount. Most of the time the shop charges higher labor prices and sometimes they write it for replacement of items that only need to be repaired. There is a myriad of reasons for the difference. Once the car is in the shop, if the shop finds damage that was not on the estimate they will contact the adjuster about a supplemental payment. Don't panic. This happens a lot. Customers go get estimates first that they don't need to get and then the insurance estimate is less. It's common, but won't be a huge thing.