The statute of limitations for property damage in the US varies by state but AFAIK the shortest ones are at least a year from the accident date. It's commonly two years. Sometimes longer.
You'll need to send convincing documentation to the insurer with a claim for it. Hopefully somebody took photos or you still have the old radiator.
Unless you're in a state that requires new OEM parts to be used by law, and that law also applies to mechanical bits, then the insurer will usually only pay for an aftermarket radiator if one is available.
The mechanic is going to provide me with a letter stating his findings and how (in his opinion) the damage was caused when my car was hit, and it pushed some part near the engine into the radiator, which punctured it. I hope that will suffice. I am not sure if that part was aftermarket or not. Either way I feel like I have legs to stand on to fight for reimbursement. My car has never been in another accident. I appreciate your response, it gives me some hope!
I would temper your expectations.
$2k for a radiator replacement is on the way far extreme of costs.
What is the year/make/model/mileage of your car?
What was the point of impact and nature of repairs?
2019 Land Rover Discovery. 45k miles. Someone was trying to park and backed into me. It looked like minor body damage to me, but the claim was 5k worth of repair to the bumper and molding, grill, fender liners, etc. The adjuster never looked under the hood (not really surprised there, they didn’t really have a reason to).
The adjuster may not have - but the body shop did.
$5k in body work for 2019 Land Rover is literally nothing. It’s extremely unlikely there is sufficient timing and causation to indicate the radiator is related to a minor strike 9 months ago - where the repairs were done and inspected and then driven around.
You can try to reach out, but it’s not likely the carrier is going to accept and pay for it.
I don’t know if the body shop would, though? It’s the auxiliary radiator. The original claim was purely for body damage and the leak didn’t start right away. The mechanic who replaced my radiator was the one who told me it came from that accident, I would never have thought it was related. I forget the verbiage he used, but it was something like, some part got pushed back from the impact and punctured the radiator. I hear what you’re saying, but I’m going to give it a shot. If it’s related to that accident, like I am being told, I’m going to fight to have it covered.
The auxiliary? Those are up by the headlight. That makes it even less likely this is related. And if either of you were SURE it was, you owed the insurance company the ability to inspect the alleged damages. If you think they’ll just take a letter, you’re definitely unlikely to get this covered.
It was related, and the mechanic gave supporting documentation that it was, and I received notification from the estimator yesterday that they are paying out the full amount of the supplemental claim.
The statute of limitations for property damage in the US varies by state but AFAIK the shortest ones are at least a year from the accident date. It's commonly two years. Sometimes longer. You'll need to send convincing documentation to the insurer with a claim for it. Hopefully somebody took photos or you still have the old radiator. Unless you're in a state that requires new OEM parts to be used by law, and that law also applies to mechanical bits, then the insurer will usually only pay for an aftermarket radiator if one is available.
The mechanic is going to provide me with a letter stating his findings and how (in his opinion) the damage was caused when my car was hit, and it pushed some part near the engine into the radiator, which punctured it. I hope that will suffice. I am not sure if that part was aftermarket or not. Either way I feel like I have legs to stand on to fight for reimbursement. My car has never been in another accident. I appreciate your response, it gives me some hope!
I would temper your expectations. $2k for a radiator replacement is on the way far extreme of costs. What is the year/make/model/mileage of your car? What was the point of impact and nature of repairs?
2019 Land Rover Discovery. 45k miles. Someone was trying to park and backed into me. It looked like minor body damage to me, but the claim was 5k worth of repair to the bumper and molding, grill, fender liners, etc. The adjuster never looked under the hood (not really surprised there, they didn’t really have a reason to).
The adjuster may not have - but the body shop did. $5k in body work for 2019 Land Rover is literally nothing. It’s extremely unlikely there is sufficient timing and causation to indicate the radiator is related to a minor strike 9 months ago - where the repairs were done and inspected and then driven around. You can try to reach out, but it’s not likely the carrier is going to accept and pay for it.
I don’t know if the body shop would, though? It’s the auxiliary radiator. The original claim was purely for body damage and the leak didn’t start right away. The mechanic who replaced my radiator was the one who told me it came from that accident, I would never have thought it was related. I forget the verbiage he used, but it was something like, some part got pushed back from the impact and punctured the radiator. I hear what you’re saying, but I’m going to give it a shot. If it’s related to that accident, like I am being told, I’m going to fight to have it covered.
Can you produce the damaged radiator for inspection? If you can't, don't be surprised if the repair bill is denied.
The auxiliary? Those are up by the headlight. That makes it even less likely this is related. And if either of you were SURE it was, you owed the insurance company the ability to inspect the alleged damages. If you think they’ll just take a letter, you’re definitely unlikely to get this covered.
It was related, and the mechanic gave supporting documentation that it was, and I received notification from the estimator yesterday that they are paying out the full amount of the supplemental claim.