Is It Illegal to Deviate from an Insurer’s Estimate?
If an insurer pays a customer to do certain repairs and the customer doesn’t want certain things done, is it illegal for the collision repairer to not repair or replace something the insurer has paid for?
Who Polices Auto Insurer Call Centers?
I’ve lost many potential repairs due to State Farm’s strong-arm tactics steering customers to their choice of repair centers instead of the customer’s. So my question is, ‘Who, if anyone, polices these call centers?’
Insurance Refusal to Pay Storage Fees
We paid the towing fees to bring a customer’s classic vehicle to our facility for restoration. The customer declined to go ahead with the job. The vehicle has been in our possession since Dec. 8, 2014, and the customer has failed to pick up the vehicle. What can we do?
Can I Charge Insurers for Cleaning Panels Prior to Painting?
Why do I, as an auto painter of 40 years, have to face a sandblasted, tar-covered, mud-filled vehicle with no time whatsoever to treat these problems? Aren’t paint times based on clean factory panels?
Sales and Marketing in the 21st Century
While commonplace sales and marketing strategies may still have their place in today’s MSO, they do not represent a large portion of the strategies necessary to succeed today.
What Are My Options When an Insurer Denies a Supplement?
When a customer returned a vehicle after complaining about a noise, we contacted the insurer and got a verbal “OK” to fix. But then the insurer denied it a week later, saying that it was prior damage. What are my options now that the vehicle is gone and I cannot charge the customer?
Estimates: Waste of Time or Path to Profit?
The insurer is going to write what they want, so why bother writing your own sheet, right? But writing your own estimates increases profits due to decreased cycle time.
How Do I Get Insurers to Settle Payments More Quickly?
Since the Patriot Act, two-party checks have been difficult to deposit without having the correct paperwork. Insurance companies know this, and some have started ignoring the direction-of-pay on supplements. Other than legal action, which I have no problem with, do you have any suggestions? Insurance companies often use ‘bank drafts’ for settlement payments, not checks
Upcoming Meeting to Focus on Combating Insurer Involvement in Collision Repair Industry
SafeCars has announced that it will host a special meeting Saturday, Oct. 18 at the DoubleTree Hotel, BWI Airport, in Linthicum Heights, Md., to discuss how to best combat increasing insurer involvement in the collision repair industry. The free event will take place at noon and is open exclusively to collision repairers or verified industry
ASA Solicits Top 10 Insurers on ‘Blend Within/Zone Refinish’ Issue
The Automotive Service Association’s board of directors and Collision Division Operations Committee have begun their second initiative as they continue to focus on refinish issues and the issues’ effects on collision repair facilities. ASA’s goal is to educate the industry, bring clearer understanding and – more importantly – resolve the issue relative to refinish times
More Than 50 Attorneys Set to Defend Insurers in Consolidated Short-Pay Lawsuit
Fifty-five attorneys representing various national insurers showed up at a Sept. 11 hearing in Orlando to defend their clients in a consolidated lawsuit filed by body shops from around the country, according to anarticle in the Orlando Sentinel. Hundreds of collision shops from around the country are suing roughly 80 insurance companies for short-pays. Companies
North Carolina Body Shop Posts Video on YouTube Alerting Consumers to Insurer Tactics
K & M Collision of Hickory, N.C., has posted a new video on YouTube applauding Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s recent action against State Farm for steering and explaining to the general public insurers’ strategy of “forcing inferior parts on cars and steering their policyholders to their preferred shops.” “These kinds of unfair trade practices
