One side of my car was damaged in an accident in a parking lot. Although my insurance covered the cost of repair and repainting, the two sides aren't exactly the same colour anymore. My insurer says if I want to have the undamaged side repainted to match, I have to pay for it myself. That doesn't seem fair, as both sides looked the same before the accident -- and it wasn't even my fault! -- Red with Anger

Dear Red:

No wonder you're seeing red -- and feeling blue! You slip into the grocery store and return 10 minutes later, only to find your car door all bent out of shape. Now you are faced not only with the inconvenience of getting your car fixed, but with having to pay out of pocket if you want the other side of your car repainted! It may not seem fair to you right now, but there is a good reason why your insurance doesn't cover the paint job on the undamaged door.

The insurance policy says the insurer will pay no more than the actual cash value (taking into account depreciation) at the time of the damage to repair your car. It is the insurer's responsibility only to put your car back in the same condition it was in before the accident -- and that means no paint job on the undamaged side of your car.

So if you insist on having the undamaged door repainted, you will have to pay for it. This principle is called "betterment" -- when the repairs or replacement as a result of the loss end up giving the insured something better than he or she had before the loss. Since the premise of insurance does not allow the insured to profit or "better" from his loss, he must cover the cost of the additional work.

Many people also expect their insurance company to repair their ageing car with brand new parts. However, the insurance policy also says the insurer may repair, rebuild, or replace any damaged parts with other parts "of like kind and quality." Let's say you rear-end a car and damage the bumper on your five-year-old Grand Prix. The insurer will probably replace your bumper with a used one of the same "kind and quality" as the original.

After all, insurance is intended to put things back to the way they were before, not to make them better than they were.

If it were an insurance company's policy to always repaint the entire car if only one side was scratched, or to replace old parts with new, we would all end up paying more for our insurance. So a betterment charge really is the better way to keep insurance costs down for all of us!

Note: The preceding information is based on the Insurance Bureau of Canada's guideline wordings. Remember, policies vary, so when in doubt, consult your insurance representative.