Your insurance company’s priority is to pay out as little as possible on every claim so they can keep as much money for themselves. They are a business and businesses have to make a profit which we all understand.
The problem comes when your insurance company refuses to pay for your vehicle to be repaired PROPERLY because they want to cut corners to save themselves money. Your safety is of THE utmost importance and cutting corners creates major safety problems for you, the driver, your precious cargo, and others on the road.
Not all insurance companies act in this manner. There are smaller, boutique insurance carriers like Chubb and AIG, that will not fight you like some of the other, larger bill payers (insurance companies).
Each vehicle has repair procedures that are given to auto body shops by the manufacturer so the vehicle can be repaired properly – ensuring that your vehicle is repaired exactly how the manufacturer says it needs to be to make it road safe and safe for you and your family to get back inside of it.
If an insurance company will not pay for the procedures, scans, etc that the manufacturer requires then the question to be asked is…why not?
Insurance companies love to play the game where they say…
- Other shops don’t charge for that
- That part or procedure is unnecessary
- Claims take longer to settle at that shop
- We don’t guarantee the work if you have it repaired it at that shop
If you have been told any of these then let us explain what’s really going on.
1 – Other shops don’t charge for that
This is a common tactic to make you, the vehicle owner, feel like the shop you have brought your vehicle to is not trustworthy. In reality – any auto body shop repairing that vehicle properly will abide by the manufacturer repair procedures and make SURE to do every item detailed out and charge for it. If you aren’t getting charged for it then it certainly isn’t being performed and that should raise a red flag for you!
2 – That part or procedure is unnecessary
The same logic applies to this insurance line. The insurance adjuster, who has never repaired a vehicle in their entire life, is attempting to tell you and the collision repair facility what is necessary and what is not. If the collision repair facility is following the manufacturer’s repair procedures then it is not the repair facility that is saying what is or isn’t necessary – it is coming directly from the manufacturer and THE MANUFACTURER IS THE ONE TO SAY WHAT IS NECESSARY.
The question you can ask your insurance company is: If the manufacturer says this is a required procedure then why do you deem it unnecessary?
The shop you are working with – if they are part of the CAP Coalition – should willingly give to you copies of the manufacturer’s repair procedures so you can see for yourself what your vehicle needs.
3 – Claims take longer to settle at that shop
Some shops take longer to repair and process vehicles and that can be frustrating.
What happens MOST of the time is that there are auto body shops that sign contracts with the insurance carriers. The auto body shops agree to let the insurance company (rather than the manufacturer of the vehicle) tell them what they can or can’t fix. Traditionally, the insurance company also pays these shops (also known as DRP Shops or Direct Repair Shops) much less per hour than they would any other auto body shop. The DRP shops on the program agree to getting paid less due to the volume that the insurance carrier sends them.
When using a shop that works “for” the insurance carrier – the insurance process typically works very quickly since that auto body shop has to do things as the insurance company wants per the contract..
Those DRP shops have to put on aftermarket parts / parts not made by the manufacturer, they have to cut corners on the repair and forego important steps due to the contract they have signed. Because of these things – of course the process is quick!
There is no one to fight for the correct repair and for your rights!
The reason for delay is when the auto body shop submits the parts and procedures from the manufacturer and they end up having to fight for you, the vehicle owner, because the insurance carrier doesn’t want to pay for the correct repair. Insurance carriers will lie, they will delay, on purpose, to attempt to make auto body shops cave and give in to the improper repair or improper parts and to get you frustrated with the auto body shop.
4 – We don’t guarantee the work if you have it repaired it at that shop
As we talked about in point #3 – when collision repair shops sign a contract with the insurance company the insurance company will “guarantee” the work done by that shop. This means that if you have any issues with your repair and you have problems with the collision repair shop then they will step in or find another shop on their program to take your vehicle to.
They are NOT guaranteeing that the work done is done to the manufacturer’s required procedures! They are guaranteeing that if you are unhappy with the partial repair job then you can take it back to have that partial repair cleaned up.
They will still not agree to the full, proper repair.