Interesting. A few years back my SO at the time had to file a claim for a small dent in the side of her truck body from tapping a road sign during a spinout (black ice). It was barely noticeable to me. In any event, her insurance wanted a receipt and photo proof that the repair was completed and the money was NOT pocketed. I'm curious who you use as they sound much easier to deal with. It was either Progressive or Geico that she was with, I really can't recall which.
This might be state dependent or you might have mis-understood the requirement for proof of repair. When you have damage paid, you can make your own choice to fix or not to fix. When I have damage repaired, I let the insurance company work directly with the repair facility. This way, when they find hidden damage, I don't need to be involved. When done, I pay the body shop the deductible and am finished.
With any other repair or not, a form is sent to document the repair as being completed. This does not in any way require that you repair the vehicle. What it does do is if you don't provide proof, and the vehicle is later damaged, stolen or totaled, the prior damage amount paid is deducted from the amount given to you, if it involves the same area of the car. So if someone rams your rear bumper and you shrug and decide to just drive around with it duct taped together and then someone else rams it......you are only paid for the new damage minus the old damage.
Indeed, hail damage is the best because the car if still completely functional. Remember to remove collision from your insurance policy now. Leave glass coverage in place.
