Do I Have To Repair My Car After An Insurance Claim Accident

If you recently got into a auto accident, or your automobile was damaged in a separate scenario like if a tree fell on it, and your auto insurance company came through with a claim check to encompass the amercement, then congrats! Your car insurance worked simply similar it's supposed to.

But now you may exist wondering if you have to use that check on the repairs, or if yous take the pick of just keeping the money and living with the damages, or trying to gear up your car on your own. The answer depends on whether or not you own the motorcar outright.

We don't sell your information to third parties.

If you lot take an existing loan on your car, the check must get directly toward machine torso repairs, but if you lot own the machine outright, you may be able to spend the insurance money on whatever you cull, depending on how your insurer paid out the claim.

Primal Takeaways

Some insurance companies send the claims cheque directly to the auto repair shop, which means you wouldn't be able to pocket the money
If you lease or finance a car, your lessor or lienholder will probable get to sign off on how you employ the claims payout
The only time you tin but pocket the claims money is if your country and insurance policy permit information technology, and typically only if you lot ain your motorcar outright

When exercise I have to use an insurance check for motorcar repairs?

Pocketing the payout from an insurance claim may seem tempting, merely it's not always an option. In many scenarios, you won't exist able to proceed the money yourself, and in some cases, doing so would actually establish fraud. Y'all should always cheque your policy requirements when it comes to how you will be paid out in the event of a claim. Here are some scenarios when you lot cannot keep the claim check for yourself.

1. When your insurer sends the check direct to an car trunk shop

Some insurance companies won't send you the claim bank check straight, they may require that information technology become straight to a repair store every bit a style of ensuring you're using the money for repairs. During the claims process, your provider may give you the option of choosing ane of their preferred repair shops or picking your own.

Your provider may make it a piddling more difficult for you to choose your own auto trunk store by requiring you to get multiple appraisals, meaning it's commonly easier to go with one of their preferred vendors. If you go with an auto trunk shop your provider has a human relationship with, your provider volition likely pay the store directly.

2. When you accept a lease or loan on your car

If you don't own your vehicle outright and instead lease it or accept a machine loan, so the decision near whether or non to keep the coin from an insurance claim may not be yours to brand. It'southward likely that your loan or lease company is besides a named insured on your policy, and the check from an insurance claim may be made out to both y'all and the company, so y'all'll need them to sign off on the repairs before you greenbacks the check.

Your lender'southward involvement will vary depending on the visitor, only they may crave that you employ the cheque for repairs and ship them documentation proving that you followed through.

Nosotros don't sell your data to third parties.

When can I keep the check and not fix my car?

If you own your machine outright and your insurance policy doesn't specifically require that the claims cheque go to your auto trunk shop, then the money from a claim is yours, and you can basically do whatever you want with it. Your insurer fulfilled their responsibility to yous by paying out the claim, and, equally long as your policy and your state's laws allow information technology, you tin keep the money for other uses.

If the damage to your automobile was just corrective and you lot'd rather spend the coin for repairs on something else, you might choose to do this. As long as yous've met your policy's requirements, it'southward not fraud for you to keep the money. However, it's not ever the best idea.

In that location are few things you lot should consider before deciding to keep the money.

Once you've already claimed damage, you tin't claim it again, fifty-fifty if you don't use the resulting money on repairs
Claiming the aforementioned damage again on a futurity blow can get you charged with fraud
Not making repairs and then you can use the claims money elsewhere could also mean gambling with your safety

Fifty-fifty if you call back the damage to your vehicle from an accident or incident isn't that bad, information technology'due south even so important to get confirmation from a professional earlier you determine to only live with it or attempt to repair information technology yourself. At that place could be more serious harm than you lot realize, which might wind up costing more than coin and headaches down the line if you don't fix it now.

What if the insurance check is more than repairs?

In short, yes, you do get to keep the money if the check ends up being more than repairs. That said, since the insurance company typically cuts you a bank check later on the auto body store, claims adjuster, or appraiser inspects the damage and gives them an approximate, odds are the leftover coin from the check will non be that much. All the same, y'all practice not accept to render that money to the insurance company.

We don't sell your information to third parties.

Frequently asked questions

When a car is totaled, who gets the check?

If your auto is totaled (and your policy includes comprehensive and standoff coverage) you'll pay your deductible and so your insurer will pay you the value of your totaled auto. You'll probably become what's chosen the actual greenbacks value, meaning depreciation is factored into your reimbursement. If you yet owe money on your car or it'south a lease, the check may become directly to your lender or lessor, and if the value of your auto is less than what you however owe, gap insurance can brand up the divergence and pay off your loan or lease.

Is it fraud if I don't use the merits money to repair my automobile?

Laws and regulations regarding machine insurance claim checks may vary from state to state. If you lot lease or finance your automobile, pocketing the claim money may be considered fraud. However, if yous own the machine outright and the insurer sends your claims check directly to you lot (not an car trunk shop), so the check is yours and you can use information technology how you want. Keep in listen that non making necessary repairs to your vehicle may exist unsafe (and even illegal depending on the severity of the damage), and claiming the aforementioned damage again on a futurity claim would exist considered fraud.

What if the insurance check is less than repairs?

If you don't believe y'all received the payout that you deserved, contact your insurance claims department. Effort to provide as much documentation of the before and after from the damage. Yous may too want to consider hiring an independent appraiser to get an additional quote for the repairs, which yous can and then bring to your insurer to aid make your case.

Anna Swartz is a managing editor and auto insurance good at Policygenius, where she oversees our car insurance coverage. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic.com, every bit well as an associate writer at The Dullard.

Editor & Licensed Home Insurance Expert

Kara McGinley is an editor and licensed home insurance proficient at Policygenius, where she writes about homeowners and renters insurance. As a journalist and every bit an insurance proficient, her work and insights have been featured in Kiplinger, Lifehacker, MSN, WRAL.com, and elsewhere.