If I’m Involved in a Tampa Car Accident, Should I Use the Insurance Company’s Pre-Approved Car Repair Facility?

As a Tampa auto accident injury lawyer, this question comes up all the time. My answer is very consistent. No. There’s no benefit to you that I can see in using the insurance company’s pre-approved repair facility after you’re involved in a Tampa auto accident. Moreover, I can share with you a number of distinct disadvantages. First, it’s important for you to know that Florida law does not require you to use the repair facility chosen by the insurance company. By calling the facility pre-approved, the insurance companies make it sound as if they’re approval is necessary - that’s completely inaccurate and exactly what the insurance company wants you to think. After a Tampa car accident, you’re entitled to go to any facility you want.

Why would the insurance company want you to go to one of their facilities to repair your vehicle damaged in a Tampa car accident. Any auto accident law firm Tampa will tell you that the reason is profit. The insurance company wants you to go to “their” facility because they expect that over the long run the “pre-approved” repair facility will save them money. The “pre-approved” facility receives substantial revenues from the insurance company they are working with and so you can understand why it is that they have no incentive to be loyal to you over the interest of the insurance company.

How does the “pre-approved” facility save the insurance company money? By perhaps using less expensive parts to replace the parts that were damaged in the Tampa car accident. By perhaps seeing something that needs to be repaired but making the false assumption that whatever it is that needs repair was something that pre-existed the Tampa auto accident you were just involved in.

Now compare that scenario to one in which you choose your own repair facility. First, most Tampa car accident law firms will tell you that you’re best off to go to your local dealership for the repair. The dealership or other “non-authorized” repair facility is not beholden to the insurance company in any way. They have a vested financial interest in looking out for your interest first and foremost. For the dealership, this is an opportunity to get the entire repair that’s necessary with the insurance company paying the bill. They don’t have to be concerned that the necessary repair after a Tampa car accident won’t fit into your present budget. As a result, they are more likely to use the “best” parts to repair your vehicle. In addition, if there is any repair work that needs to be done, they have no financial incentive to avoid calling the insurance company back to say that more work is required.

So after a Tampa auto accident, choose to have your car repaired by a dealership rather than one of the insurance company’s preapproved facilities. Tampa car accident injury attorneys will tell you that should you want to sell your vehicle at some point after the sale; the fact that the dealership put the car back together again should hold more weight with the buyer than to learn that the car was repaired by a facility chosen by the insurance company. You might just find it much easier to sell a vehicle at a higher price having the car repaired by the dealership after you’re involved in a Tampa car accident.