Appraisal – The written estimate of the vehicle’s worth. A damage appraisal is the written estimate estimate of the extent of the damage caused in an accident, and is usually completed by a body shop and an insurance company adjuster.
Estimate – This written document is created by an estimator or an appraiser, and it lists details about the damage, repair costs, replacement costs, and repair time. Estimates are not always completely accurate, especially if the vehicle isn’t disassembled during the estimating process, so supplements can be added if additional repairs are found to be necessary.
Deductible – An auto insurance policy usually includes a deductible, which is the amount of money the vehicle owner has to pay before the insurance company will cover costs, up to the policy limit.
Exclusion – Auto insurance policies don’t cover every kind of damage to a vehicle. Exclusions are the things that are excluded from an auto insurance policy.
Loss – This is the amount of money that an insurance company will pay on a single claim.
Subrogation – When your insurance company pays for things like the cost of repairing your vehicle or of medical care, that they may not have been required to pay, they’ll try to get reimbursement from the responsible party. This process is called subrogation.
Depreciation – The drop in value of the vehicle over time, usually caused by everyday wear and tear, is usually not covered by insurance.
Blue Book – At any point, the Kelley Blue Book is a standard for determining value of used vehicles.
DRP (Direct Repair Program) – A DRP is a kind of agreement between an insurance company and a collision repair shop. It usually includes rules for the repair shop about things like record keeping, billing, and standard repair procedures, and in exchange the insurance company guarantees faster payments.
However, no driver is required to use a shop because of a DRP – you always have the right to choose your own repair shop.
Select Repair Shop – When a collision repair shop is part of one or more direct repair programs (DRPs) that shop is called a select repair shop.
Repair Authorization – This is a point in time when the vehicle owner allows a vehicle to be repaired.
Repair Order – This is a document that a repair shop uses to track the repairs, including time spent, materials used, parts used, etc. It can also be called a work order.
