[Johnny Danger]

Unless a person simply wants to pocket the cash, it's never a good idea to accept payment directly from an insurance company; particularly when you're not at fault . Rather, it's better to go to the shop of your choice and get a thorough appraisal . If you're satisfied with their assessment, you can sign what's referred to as a "direction of pay". In turn, the other person's insurance company will send an adjuster out to meet with your shop and agree on a price to fix your vehicle. A good shop will handle the whole process for you, and act as your advocate - seeking the maximum amount possible in order to get the job done right . Moreover, if the shop subsequently discovers that additional work or parts are needed, they can request for the adjuster to come back out to reassess the damage and authorize additional payment . This is referred to a "supplemental" . For future reference, whenever an insurance company pays out a claim directly, in their mind they have essentially bought off the claimant . Once a person has accepted payment directly, it's often difficult to get an insurance company to pay out addition money .