How do I get a repair invoice from Enterprise? My insurance company needs it

Michael Roehricht needs a repair invoice from Enterprise to file a claim with his car insurance company. Why won’t the company send him the paperwork?

I need your help with an insurance claim. I recently damaged a car I rented through Enterprise while in Germany.

In summary, my car insurance company has been requesting a repair invoice from Enterprise for the last two months to close the claim and determine how much to pay them.

Enterprise wrote that they would not share additional documentation as requested by my car insurance and instead demanded immediate payment.

My insurance company gives me two months to get those documents from Enterprise. If I don’t, the claim will be closed, and the insurance may not pay. Can you help me?

Michael Roehricht, Austin, Texas

I normally handle complaints from car rental customers who claim they’ve been falsely accused of damaging a rental car. It’s nice to hear from someone who wants to own up to the damage and is trying to do the right thing.

And when I got your case, I wondered why Enterprise wasn’t helping you. After all, isn’t it in the company’s best interests to get you to file a successful insurance claim? (I’ll have the answer in a moment.)

You totaled your rental car based on the claim information you sent me. Enterprise originally wanted to bill you for the vehicle’s full value ($31,309) but then agreed to settle for about half ($15,654).

The offer was contingent on you paying quickly. In fact, by the time you reached out to me, Enterprise’s offer had expired, and it had been extended another ten days. If you didn’t pay, you would be liable for the full $31,309.

Enterprise says it does not have to provide you with a repair invoice under German law. It says it has the right to choose to receive the amount of money required to return the car to working order under the law. “This is also a case of restitution in kind since the value of the money is also intended for the recreation of the hypothetical undamaged state,” Enterprise said.

In other words, it doesn’t have to show your insurance company a repair invoice.

There’s another twist: Your car insurance is covered under your travel insurance. Car insurance companies are well-versed in damage rules and regulations, but travel insurance companies answer to different underwriters and have different requirements. And I could see that your travel insurance company would not pay without the necessary documentation.

So why would Enterprise not send you the invoice quickly? Reading between the lines, it looks as if the company negotiated a settlement with you and expected you to pay the claim out of pocket. Car rental companies often prefer to deal directly with customers because they’re less likely to question charges like administrative fees, loss of use, and diminution of value.

Once an insurance company gets involved, there’s often a negotiation that results in the car rental company being liable for more damage. Perhaps that’s what Enterprise was trying to avoid in this case.

A brief, polite email to one of the Enterprise executives I list on my site might have clarified the matter for you. Again, you were trying to do the right thing and owning up to the damage to your vehicle. I think Enterprise would have appreciated it if you had taken responsibility for the car.

I contacted Enterprise on your behalf. Shortly after that, your insurance company contacted you and told you that it agreed to pay $17,552, which is about half the claim. You are happy with that resolution, and Enterprise has accepted the insurance company’s offer.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. You can email him at chris@elliott.org or contact him on his site.

© 2024 Christopher Elliott