If It’s Broke, Fix It: Allstate, Sterling, and Your Shop
“We finally parted ways,” says a Louisiana shop owner who – during the past few months – has voiced his concerns to me about Allstate acquiring Sterling and his own business’s shaky relationship as an Allstate PRO shop. “But we’re still repairing cars with Allstate drive-in estimates – and making more money because they’re at a higher labor rate. Go figure!”
United We Stand
Never forget and never go back.
How Many People Will She Tell
I’m not just a collision repair industry editor – I’m a client. I admit, I’ve always been a bit accident prone – if there’s a wall to run into, a piece of furniture to fall over or a step to trip up, I’m your woman. No one in my family ever harbored hope of my
The Word Track an Insurer Uses to Influence a Vehicle Owner to Go to a Preferred Shop
We have a list of five companies here …” Sound familiar? Like … oh, let’s say … the word track an insurer uses to influence a vehicle owner to go to a preferred shop? But what if the roles were reversed? What if, instead, it’s the word track a shop owner uses to influence a
Market Profile: Overcoming Market Challenges
From dealing with insurer steering to getting on DRPs to trying to make a profit on current DRPs, shop owners are struggling to overcome market challenges.
Purchasing Profile: Aftermarket Crash Parts
You know you have to spend money to make money – but sometimes it’s on stuff you’d rather not buy.
Allstate Purchased Sterling Collision Centers
“We’ve been a PRO shop for Allstate for 15 years,” says a New Orleans shop owner who’d just learned Allstate purchased Sterling Collision Centers, a consolidator with 39 shops. Though this shop owner didn’t see it coming, he did know something was up. “Several months ago, [Allstate] reviewed our estimates written for them. After a
Insurer-Relations Profile: DRP Arrangements
From DRPs to parts usage to insurers in general, you tell it like it is.
We Asked You to Tell Us What Articles You’d Most Like to See in BSB… And Tell Us You Did!
Pat yourself on the back! If you can’t reach, find someone attractive and ask that person to pat you on the back. Warning: If you’re married, you might want to make sure that person is your spouse. (If your spouse isn’t attractive, that’s your own fault.)
Dealing with State Farm
“Every shop in this country deals with State Farm, and they all understand that SF can, if it wants, put them out of business. In many markets, it will be a ‘take it or leave it’ situation,” says a shop owner about SF’s revised contract for its direct-repair shops. “I depend on SF insureds and claimants about 50 percent of the time. I, like every other shop owner, have some hard choices to make.”
The Sign Says: Laugh. Violators Will Be Fined
Road signs have become so abundant that we often don’t really notice them.
A List of Five Suggestions from Repairers to Insurer
1. Hire people with experience instead of college kids who’ve never been around cars.
2. Stop steering and stop lying.
3. Pay for necessary operations and materials to properly repair vehicles.
4. Don’t take so dang long to approve supplements.
5. Accept the fact that it costs money to repair an accident, and quit trying to cut corners.