Car Insurance Photo Estimates: What Insurance Companies Don’t Want You To Know


If you are involved in a car accident, it is very important from both a financial and safety standpoint that your car is completely repaired and restored to its pre-accident condition.

Unfortunately, insurance companies don’t always do the right thing and are always looking for ways to cut corners and save money. As a result of their lobbying efforts, the Pennsylvania legislature recently changed the law to allow car damage repair estimates be performed based on photographs.

As a result of the change in the law, insurance carriers are allowed to estimate the cost to repair your car based on photographs taken by you or others; people who have no qualifications whatsoever. The pictures are then sent electronically to an appraiser sitting in an office at some remote location, and the appraiser performs the estimate as best they can from what they can see in pictures. Many insurance carriers have actually developed an app, which they ask their insureds to down-load for the purpose of sending the carrier pictures of the car damage taken by the insured. As you can imagine, estimates performed by photographs taken by unqualified people are bound to result in incomplete damage repair estimates.

It is very important that you know that you still have the right to insist that the insurance company have your car damage estimate performed by a licensed physical damage appraiser based upon an in-person inspection. The law requires the insurance carriers to let you know that, but they often fail to do so, or their adjusters may refuse your request.

Questions about your own auto insurance policy or an accident you were involved in? Call Freeburn Law at 717-777-7777. When you call, you’ll speak to one of our PA accident lawyers for FREE.