[AmazinglySmooth]

I think the wording is ambiguous. Does the "or" go with "the person seeking coverage" or with just "the person". I think it is the "the person seeking coverage" meaning "you" are responsible to report each loss. Of course, I'm not certain.

[DC5]

"[The] person seeking coverage" refers to any person with a valid claim for which your insurance carrier is legally bound to indemnify you. For example, you rear end a vehicle at an intersection. The opposing driver and/or registered owner of the vehicle (i.e., "the person seeking coverage") should report the accident to either his/her insurance carrier or your insurance carrier in a timely manner. If the accident is only reported to his/her insurance carrier, said insurance carrier will seek reimbursement from your insurance carrier through subrogation.

[Frost_SS]

I'll chime here. I am a Property Damage estimator for a large insurance company. Before that I was an actual claim Adjuster. I know people who work for other large insurance companies as well. I'll list a few tid bits for you guys.

1. If you are seeking coverage for a loss you have to report it and you cannot be doing an excluded act. ex: racing, or it happened with an excluded driver driving your car.

2. you do NOT have to seek repairs through your carrier. If you want to close your collision or comp claim you can do so. Your premium "may" go up if you are found to be at fault for a loss. It doesnt go up if you are found not to be at fault from your carrier. Most carriers have thresholds where your premium will go up if over xx amount of dollars, low cost repairs often wont change a rate.

3. if you are found not at fault you can 100% go through your own carrier and your rates dont get hurt. Many people think they have to go through the other party or your rates get hit which isnt true.

4. Insurance companies are busy and have metric tons of claims to do. We are not looking to see who did not report an accident they paid out of pocket for. If those repairs are poor and we have to redo the repair is where you run into issues on what will be paid out. Example, bad quarter panel repair caused a small parking lot dent to be a huge dent/crack/buckle due to excess filler, installation/ poor welding. In this case your INS doesnt owe for another shops bad work.

5. If damage to your car happens while your policy is in force your insurance company will cover it. Even if somehow it was cancelled the next day if the damage was during policy period and there were no exclusions/coverage issues they would pay for the damages. You can even cancel your policy directly after the accident and they will cover the accident.

Basically if your not trying to claim it under your Policy we dont care. If you are claiming damage it needs to be within your policy period.

insurance companies make MUCH more money off of policy renewals than attracting new customers. A carrier isnt going to cancel your policy for you not reporting damage to them as you are not claiming it on your policy. They instead would rather retain you as a customer. If you dont ever claim that damage they never have to pay out and all is good. If your carrier cancels you for not reporting damage you're better off just going to a new carrier anyways. There are databases for claims and they do not pull up private repairs.

Hope this helps.

[mcintyre1969]

Listen to Frost. I would add to #3 that you would not get surcharged, but you could lose a claim free discount if you decide to use your company on a non fault accident. Carriers do not spend time looking at ways to cancel polices. Acquisition cost is too high.

[Zaqwert6]

Absolutely correct.

Have had many instances where my Ins company has said it was up to me to claim or report or not. If no coverage is being seeked, no reporting is required or expected.

Originally Posted by Frost_SS

I'll chime here. I am a Property Damage estimator for a large insurance company. Before that I was an actual claim Adjuster. I know people who work for other large insurance companies as well. I'll list a few tid bits for you guys.

1. If you are seeking coverage for a loss you have to report it and you cannot be doing an excluded act. ex: racing, or it happened with an excluded driver driving your car.

2. you do NOT have to seek repairs through your carrier. If you want to close your collision or comp claim you can do so. Your premium "may" go up if you are found to be at fault for a loss. It doesnt go up if you are found not to be at fault from your carrier. Most carriers have thresholds where your premium will go up if over xx amount of dollars, low cost repairs often wont change a rate.

3. if you are found not at fault you can 100% go through your own carrier and your rates dont get hurt. Many people think they have to go through the other party or your rates get hit which isnt true.

4. Insurance companies are busy and have metric tons of claims to do. We are not looking to see who did not report an accident they paid out of pocket for. If those repairs are poor and we have to redo the repair is where you run into issues on what will be paid out. Example, bad quarter panel repair caused a small parking lot dent to be a huge dent/crack/buckle due to excess filler, installation/ poor welding. In this case your INS doesnt owe for another shops bad work.

5. If damage to your car happens while your policy is in force your insurance company will cover it. Even if somehow it was cancelled the next day if the damage was during policy period and there were no exclusions/coverage issues they would pay for the damages. You can even cancel your policy directly after the accident and they will cover the accident.

Basically if your not trying to claim it under your Policy we dont care. If you are claiming damage it needs to be within your policy period.

insurance companies make MUCH more money off of policy renewals than attracting new customers. A carrier isnt going to cancel your policy for you not reporting damage to them as you are not claiming it on your policy. They instead would rather retain you as a customer. If you dont ever claim that damage they never have to pay out and all is good. If your carrier cancels you for not reporting damage you're better off just going to a new carrier anyways. There are databases for claims and they do not pull up private repairs.

Hope this helps.

[Midblues]

Not sure how this got hijacked to an insurance debate???
I was just looking to see if any one else had this kind of damage and was able to repair it correctly. Also I have been in fender benders where my car was parked I was not in car and put every thing through the other persons insurance only and it was my insurance that told me to go through other persons insurance and not through mine. Had police come and make report the officer did not want my drivers licence because the car was parked. Officer didn't care.
I am sure you are all right to some regard to the fine print. But to be honest just want to know if any one else had issue with strut towers, I have talked with guys who track these cars and say its common to get stress cracks on the strut towers. That all may be true because GM sells replacement strut towers and has a precise procedure for doing this. So I am inclined to believe these strut towers are a little problematic.
So I have a very reputable shop actually has two large shops and his exact words were these uni body cars are like models its all riveted and glued together. So I am kind of posting this for future reference for other people on forum so they know they can replace struts if need be. How well that works remains to be seen I will let all know when I get the car back. And before any one else states there is more hidden damage, There is but its suspension work which is easily replaced. So with a little luck all will be good. I am a Tech my self and believe you can fix things and most times upgrade while you are and make as good or better then before.

[$overeign]

I just had my strut tower replaced for the same issue in June. I was quoted $2500-$3000 for the repair by several shops in here in Indy. I decided to go ahead and use my insurance. Took 8 days to repair. I'll post pics of the new tower housing later.

[Midblues]

Wow hope they come out with after market support bracket of some kind. Yes would like to hear how the completed repair comes out.

[Jsreo]

Originally Posted by $overeign

I just had my strut tower replaced for the same issue in June. I was quoted $2500-$3000 for the repair by several shops in here in Indy. I decided to go ahead and use my insurance. Took 8 days to repair. I'll post pics of the new tower housing later.

Was your damage also the result of an impact of some type?

[$overeign]

Originally Posted by Jsreo

Was your damage also the result of an impact of some type?

It was. I hit a pretty deep depression in the road doing about 40 mph. As the car came out of it, felt like hit a ramp. The suspension bottomed out. Surprisingly, there was no other damage.

[Silent_H_]

Originally Posted by $overeign

It was. I hit a pretty deep depression in the road doing about 40 mph. As the car came out of it, felt like hit a ramp. The suspension bottomed out. Surprisingly, there was no other damage.

Wow, well I guess I'd rather there be a single failure point that can be replaced than worry about tracking down who-knows-how-many other things!

[Midblues]

Well so far does not seem to bad estimate of $4100 to replace with new strut and rubber seats and other parts most of the cost is labor. So we will see when I get it back.

[Justin_Swift6]

I just accidentally found out I have the exact same crack a month ago unfortuanately, I think mine is because of I hit a few deep potholes which opened a very tiny crack on the strut tower that may be not visible at that time (cus I asked my chevy dealer to inspect my suspension due to stiff ride which turns out to be bad tires, and they said there was nothing wrong with the suspension), then, I recently went to 2 track days and drove pretty hard, then I found out the crack, I think it's the stress from cornering opened the crack to the current state. Anyway GM has a precise procedure to replace the strut tower in the service manual and the correct part number for passenger side is 84755797 and driver side is 84755796 which retails for $399 and I got mine on gmpartsnow.com for $280, and usually the strut mount is cracked too, I got mine (84103429) for $62. All the bodyshop I went to gave me quotes from $2000-$3000, the one I chose is $2500 ($300 for rivets and adhesives and $2200 for labor), they said they are gonna need a week to replace it and it will be as strong as factory, also won't go to carfax as I will pay out of pocket. Already sceduled for the end of the month and we wll see how it comes out.
So in my case the repair is going to cost around $2800 and it will be like new, so it's not the end of world (I thought it was the end of the world at the time I found out the crack cus I thought I was the only one, now it seems it's fairly common lol). I also have been driving like this for a month now (it's my only car and daily driver) and didn't notice the crack has further opened up, so I assume if you don't go through potholes or curbs or go to track, there won't be too much stress on the strut tower, but definitely get it fixed ASAP, who knows when you'll hit another pothole or curbs lol

[2SS Capt]

I have to say it is a bit disturbing seeing all these cracked strut towers... Why aren't they using stronger materials???