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We apologize in advance that this document has a negative ‘air’ to it about insurance companies. The majority of the time, in our experience, insurance companies are easy to deal with, and if a repair needs to be made that is accident related, they take care of it. However, we have seen numerous times where people have been steered to a particular shop when they would have rather taken their vehicle somewhere else, but were mislead by the insurance company to believe they HAD to use said shop. So, here at Ben’s Collision & Customs, we feel the consumer should be informed, whether you bring your vehicle to us or not — it is your car and YOUR choice.
It’s Your Car, It’s Your Choice
Don’t be steered into another accident by your insurance company or the other party’s insurance company. Did you know some insurance companies have ownership in some repair shops? Makes you wonder who the customer really is. Ben’s Collision & Customs does not participate in many of the repair networks because of the concessions or stipulations in their contracts, which generally lead to a lower cost and/or a lower quality repair. We believe we have a responsibility to the vehicle owner, who is ultimately our customer, not the insurance company.
Insurance companies use carefully crafted ‘word tracks’ to intimidate the customer into thinking they have to do what the insurance company says, or the claim will not be paid. They do this because the state does not allow insurance companies to “direct”, “steer”, or “refer” customers to a particular shop, so they have come up creative ways to accomplish the same goal. Some companies also have bonus programs for employees that steer claims to their networks, so don’t think that they have your best interest in mind. Most of these claims people have never seen a particular shop, nor have any knowledge of any of the staff; they are just directing claims to whomever their company has a “deal” with, so they can hit a bonus quota.
Whether you choose to use us or another repair shop, don’t be manipulated by insurance companies and their ‘word tracks’.
Here are examples of often-heard phrases from insurance companies, when you want to take your vehicle to a shop that is not on their “list”, as well as our responses.
“They are not one of our network shops and they are not on our list, so we can’t guarantee the repairs.”
We are not on every company’s list, because we do not want to be. We identify the vehicle owner as our primary customer, not the insurance company. As for guaranteeing our work, they do not need to, as we have our own lifetime guarantee. When have you ever seen an insurance company with a car being repaired in their office? Truth is, they will send you back to whomever you selected off their list.
“If you use them, we can’t get an adjuster out for several days; if you take it to our network shop we will have someone start on it right away.”
This is just another ploy to steer you to their shop. We have heard insurance companies tell our customers how busy they are and how they can’t get someone out for 7 or 8 days, when we know their staff appraisers have little to do. Most companies are required to appraise a vehicle within 72 hrs.
“If you use that shop, you will have to pay for your rental out of pocket.”
This is not true, but some insurance companies will still try to force you into a rental reimbursement, which means they will either try to get you to pay with a credit card and then reimburse you, or offer to send check for X amount of rental days (which you should promptly refuse to do). Most companies have direct bill agreements with rental companies, but do not always disclose this information. Always remember as a claimant against a company that you also have specific rights a policyholder may not have.
“They charge more than the prevailing rate and you will have to pay the difference in repair cost.”
There are very few cases where we have charged a customer the difference between what the actual costs were and what the insurance company was willing to pay. We will say that each customer collected the difference from the insurance company after a few phone calls. The laws states that the insurance company will pay the cost of repairs and case law has already determined that labor rate differences of $2-$4 an hour in a given market area are reasonable and competitive. Sometimes when there are discrepancies in the repair cost because a carrier is trying to force us to do something that is not in your best interest, we can assist you in filing a complaint with the State Department of Insurance. It is a simple form that we will fill out for you and e-mail it.
“Claims take longer to settle if you use them.”
Well, we do look after everything for you, including making rental car arrangements and dealing with the appraiser. The only reason it may take longer is the insurance companies are sometimes slow to respond to us, and they do not pay us as quickly as they pay their preferred providers.
These are just a few of the word tracks used to manipulate the customer into using a specific repair facility. Be careful! It’s your vehicle, your investment, so you have the right to make the choice of who repairs your vehicle.
We would be more than happy to assist you in the claims process. The truth is we work with almost every insurance company out there, but more importantly, we do not lose sight of who our customer is.
