Nationwide Insurance (rant)

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Rant on:

Ok all, I posted earlier about a friend of mine that hit a deer with her '06 Mariner and cracked up the front alittle. They have been fighting with Nationwide for the last 1 1/2 months because the Insurance company will not pay for a new front bumper cover and will only cover it if it gets "plastic welded". In Pa the law states that the vehicle has to be returned to the condition it was in BEFORE the accident. She just called and informed me that Nationwide is aware of the law and they are still only going to pay for plastic welding the front bumper cover. This is after the Bodyshop (Ford Dealer she got it from) told the insurance company that it should have a new cover and can't gaurantee the plastic weld will hold. The better business buttheads in Pa won't do anything because the main office is Ohio. Also, the Insurance Law Office of Pa told her there isn't anything they can do either but if she wants she can file a complaint but it won't do anything. NICE. Now she has to drive a '06 with a crappy fix to the front end. I just wanted to post this to let anyone who has Nationwide as an insurance carrier to BEWARE!! If you are in an accident, they might not fix it the way it should be.

Rant off.

 

[D Knx]

Here, Here, dropped nationwide 11 mos. ago.

 

[Gary DiPietroSr]

I had them once, Nationwide is NOT on your side!

 

[Rick Kent]

Not defending Nationwide but look at the source of the info your friend is receiving. Not exactly unbiased.



The Ford dealer body shop says plastic welding "may" not hold up. They are saying that because they get a much bigger profit margin from a new cover.



Plastic welding has been done in the industry for years with no problems unless the cover has a texture in it.



Returning a vehicle to preloss condition is predicated on usual and customary repair methods in the bodyshop industry. Since plastic welding is just as accepted as sheetmetal repair it would qualify as restoring to pre-loss conditiion.



Now if the shop does the repair and it does not turn out well, she has a case to argue for a new cover.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

FKent, I understand what you are saying, BUT this is a '06 that we are talking about.(with a painted bumper) This isn't a pre-2000 vehicle. Nationwide is in my opinion saying "we will ruin your vehicles value just because we don't want to return it to the ORIGINAL way it was before the accident. The bumper wasn't plastic welded before the accident, so why should it be now? It's just not right. If it was my vehicle, I would still fight it but not as I would if I just bought the vehicle 2 1/2 months ago as she did.

 

[Dale Carter]

The only reason to complain about Nationwide is if other companies woud not repair the cover. I am unaware of any insurance company which will replace a part if it is economically sound to repair. Keep in mind that they won't skimp the money if they are reasonably sure it isn't a good fix becasue they KNOW you will be back being a pain in the rear.



It only hurts the value if the repair is detectable. Just as not matching the paint well on the new cover could hurt. The welding will not be detectable if done properly and it is a sound method of repair. I did it on a 944 Turbo becasue a new one was over $ 2K. It looked good and lasted until I sold it, don't know after that becasue I haven't seen it.



Regarding the definition of pre-damage condition, how can it ever be returned to exactly that condition? It wll always have some kind of defect (paint shading, alignment, etc.), even with a new part. If we really want to be picky, the insurance company should replace it with a used part, after all, the bumper cover was not new when it was damaged.

 

[Rick Kent]

I understand the vehicle is new and she wants a new cover. But she is likely not going to win this argument if they have dug their heels in.



A new plastic cover still needs to be painted by the shop. Repairing the damage to the existing cover is childs play for a skilled technician.



What usually makes or breaks a repair is the quality of the paint work.



She should try and get a guarantee from Nationwide that if the repair is not acceptable they will replace the cover. She should also consult with other qualified repair shops for their opinion.



Do not discount the profit motive. Many independent shops can and will do repairs that dealers do not want to do simply because the dealer makes more money on part replacement.



For the record, I do not work for Nationwide.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

FKent and dale, points taken. Just needed to rant is all. I understand it's all about money. I just can't stand to see companies go off and do this when you pay them every 3 months for something and then not "pony-up" when it comes down to it. I know the shop will do a good job since they did some work on a "blemish" on my wifes '05 Mountaineer. (Birchwood silver of course like my ST) and you can't even tell where the work was done. And it was a spot where the paint wasn't even and the clearcoat didn't go on right. She has had Nationwide since she was 16 (she's 21 now) with a clean record and now this. Needless to say she is dropping them completely. (she has house ins. through them also) And her family is doing the same.

 

[Frank Marano]

Myself (car insurance) and My parents had Nationwide Insurance. My parents had them for everything from their vehicles, home and my father's business. Nationwide does have higher "prices" but my parents liked the agent they dealt with for MANY years, the last I knew almost 15 yrs. My mother started to notice around 1999-2000 that little by little they were jacking the prices up and up and up and my father started to notice the agent was getting sloppy. He was unwilling to help or answer questions about the price increase, few times he never returned my fathers calls, basically his attitude changed.



Long story short, my parents dropped Nationwide and lost a nice chunk of money my parents paid each month and year. Of course I couldn't stay with them either, lol

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Needless to say she is dropping them completely. (she has house ins. through them also) And her family is doing the same.

And THAT is how it should be done.... take your business elswhere. They work for YOU, if you dont like what they do, fire them and hire someone else.



I had Allstate, left them for Geico because they screwed me when I moved to Illinois, penalizing me for a claim in FL (no fault state).... they wanted to jack up my rates since there was a claim, even though it was the other guys fault(my insurance had to pay DW's medical).



I have to agree though, the plastic weld should be undetectable if done correctly. If not done right, make them do it over.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Stone, I live in PA, and I thought the law was a little vague. For instance, a body panel that is punctured could be replaced or repaired with filler, as long as the resultant repair was visually indistinquishable from the original condition (that is what I thought it meant).



Do you have some legal reference I could review?



TJR

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

TJR here is the site I got the info from. It's under the "How much is my insurance company required to pay me if my car is damaged?" question.





Q, the insurance company told them they will only plastic weld it because of the PRICE of welding it to the price of replacing it. Welding of course being the cheaper.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Stone given the website link you gave, I assume you are gravitating towards the following text:

Your insurance company is required to pay the amount necessary to return the motor vehicle to its same condition just prior to the damage in question.

Like I said, that's vague, and besides that website is not a legal document or any type of a legal statement.



Look at it this way; the term "same condition just prior to the damage" can mean different things to different parties, right? To the insurance company and a body shop it will no doubt mean "perceptibly the same as it was before" or "functionally, visually, and safety-wise as it was before"; but you want it to mean "all damaged parts replaced".



It doesn't necessarily mean what you want it to mean, I'm afraid. If PA wanted it to mean what you wanted it to mean, I suspect they would have said something like:



"Your insurance company is required to pay the amount necessary to replace all damaged parts and return the motor vehicle to its same condition just prior to the damage in question."



Damaged parts get doctored all the time with bondo and filler and welds and with dings punched out or pushed back in. Is it as "GOOD AS NEW" after that happens, no, probably not. It is the same condition, from the standpoint of looks, safety and functionality, YES, if done properly.



TJR