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
2001 Industry Profile: What are the Signs that Summer is Finally Here?
Baseball season is in full swing, kids don’t have to worry about homework, and it’s time for the BodyShop Business Industry Profile. Take a look at all the charts, graphs and analysis to see how the industry – and repairers like you – are doing.
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
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.”
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.
The Insurance Consumer Advocate Network: www.ican2000.com
Individual drivers are, on average, only involved in an accident once every seven years. Such infrequent exposure to the collision repair process leads to a lot of questions.
Shop Owner Profile
Where would we be without all the shop owners in the world? After all, even the most productive, profitable and professional shop must have a leader — someone to guide the business and lock up after everyone else goes home.
Another Leg to Stand On?
Ohio court rules that an insurer has to pay for the “diminished value” of an insured’s car after a wreck