Originally Posted by John Doe

No, its highly negotiable, but certain companies hold a harder line than others (USAA). What they have here is an opportunity to make someone else reimburse them for the claim (reality of this see pm). If they choose not to do this, then you should impress upon them that they should waive the deductible. Another bargaining point would be if you decide to use their 'preferred bodyshop', as the carrier gets a discount for work shilled to their preferred bodyshop. "If I use your shop, how about you waive the deductible." I do it a lot for other people, but have actually done it twice on my own vehicles and once on a home. Like I said--if you get it waived its a win. If you don't, it just depends on how bad you want the $500 back.