Wow! This is a very rare case. Yesterday, when i went with the client at Mazda Greenhills with Standard Insurance's technical department, we examined and test drove the affected Mazda 3 unit. Yes, the power steering of the said unit is not functioning and the BIG question is, is it accident related or not? We did a few check ups to validate the claim.
We had the car computer diagnosed for P650 an hour and the computer saw nothing, meaning the damage is not visible in the computer. So we lifted the car trying

to look for leaks, again we found nothing, no leaks from the power steering. So Mazda technicians suggested to pull down the Rack and Pinion and have it tested to a Machine Shop to find out if the impact damaged a bolt or beam inside for around P10,000 parts and labor included. The problem here is that the Insuranc

e is willing to pay for it for as long as they proved that the damage came from the accident. Now Mazda Greenhills asked the insurance company, what if you declared that its not part of the accident?Who will pay? Is the customer willing to pay for the unexpected expenses? Actually, on my opinion if it is proven that its not part of the accident, the customer have no choice but to pay and proceed with the repair since it should be repaired anyway or it will be very inconvenient driving a car without the power steering. Another issue is even the technical of Standard Insurance nor Mazda can not decide unless we proceed with the pull down of the rack and pinion. Now, standard insurance is already asking for the approval from head office for the part and labor budget of this case.
If you were the assured, what would do or feel?