Car Insurance Recommended Repairers - Motorists know your rights with motor insurance claims
Any motorist about to make an insurance claim, you should read this article.
Insurance companies go to great lengths and expense to try and convince you they care about you and your vehicle. But lets be truthfully for a moment here, insurance groups are massive organisations who have thousands of shareholders. The number one reason the insurance group is in business for is making money. Lots of money.
At the start of the year the insurance group gathers all the premiums from all its customers. Now all this revenue minuses some minor personnel costs would be considered a nice profit. That is, if only these pesky customers would stop taking portions of the money back by lodging motor vehicle claims.
So you're out driving around, enjoying the local scenery, when out of nowhere another car crosses your path. Unfortunately you can't avoid hitting the car. Once you stop to survey the damage and check on the other driver, you then make a decision to file a claim with your insurance company. This is where all the fun begins.
Most insurance groups in Australia today use what is know as Recommended Repairers. These are vehicle repair shops that are not owned by the insurance groups, but shops that agreed to provide a service to these insurance groups. So what does this mean for you the vehicle owner? Your insurance provider will say it means good things like, faster service and a quicker turn-around on your damaged vehicle. In some cases this can be true. However in most cases it is not.
Let's take a closer look at the recommended repairer agreement and process. When a shop signs a recommended repairer agreement with an insurance group it basically turns it's managerial decisions and rights over to the insurance group. How? These agreements are drawn up by the insurance groups to protect them from fraud, further litigation and they say, the rising cost of auto body and windscreen repairs. These agreements direct an auto shop in how they are to write estimates, how they are to report motor claims, what replacement parts they can use, how much they can charge, what they will not get paid for and a whole host of other do's and don'ts. Basically the agreement totally ties the hands of the auto repair shop that tries to repair your vehicle back to it's original pre-accident condition.
For example. To save money on a claim, the insurance group will make the recommended repairer shop use second hand or aftermarket parts. Aftermarket parts are parts designed to fit a certain year, make and model of vehicle, but they are not made by the original manufacturer. Most aftermarket parts come from overseas and have been proven to not be LKQ, Like, Kind and Quality. State Farm Insurance lost a major lawsuit in the late 80's, early 90's over the usage of aftermarket parts and following the settlement stopped using aftermarket parts.
Lets make one point quite clear, aftermarket parts are not of the same quality as genuine parts. Aftermarket parts do not fit as well as genuine parts. Aftermarket pars can be of an acceptable standard and in the case of windscreens they do pass Australian Standards, however make no mistake the generic windscreen you purchased for 1/3 of the price of the original is not as good quality. In addition do not always use price as guide, some corporate brands charge the same price as the genuine parts and fail to let you know they fitted a generic part. Don't be afraid to ask what part is being fitted to your vehicle.
So what does this mean for the vehicle owner? It means, if aftermarket parts are used to repair of your vehicle, they will not fit the same, may not be as safe as OEM and certainly are not the same quality as OEM parts. Now this is fine if you have chosen this option to save yourself money, however since its your insurance group paying you should be getting what you paid for, if that was of course to replace like for like.
Most insurance groups will say just about anything to get you into their recommended repairer shop and they train their staff to be quite aggressive to steer you their. Service 8 Auto Glass suggests, if you are happy with the shop your insurance group recommended, then by all means, let that shop repair your vehicle. However don't go there just because your insurance company says that's where you have to go, or that's where you must go or we will not guarantee the work. If an insurance group uses any of these tactics be very, very wary.
Insurance groups will tell you they will give you lifetime warranty on repairs, only if you use their recommended repair shop. Don't be alarmed this is just a play on words. In all cases its the auto repair shop that offers the warranty not the insurance group, ask the insurance group for your written warranty from them and see what they say.
You have to wonder how it is that a car manufacturer selling you a brand new car can offer only a three year warranty. Yet your insurance groups recommended repair shop fitting your car with second hand parts and an spraying it with an aftermarket paint job can offer a lifetime warranty? You decide.
Recommended repairer shops receive only a flat price rate for work carried out at their shop. This means they get the same labour rates to fix up a $250.000 Mercedes or a $15.000 Kia. Lets not forget the repair shop has to make money too, after all he has to earn a living. This means corners are cut, damaged part are bent back into shape or reused and inexperienced technicians who have no expertise in fixing your vehicle train on the job.
Some good insurance groups give the vehicle owner the right to choose their own repair facility use this right. By researching local repair shops and getting repair quotes and standing up to the insurance company for your rights, you become an educated consumer. Visit the potential repair shops. make sure they have a clean well equipped workshop and do their employees look clean. Get an estimate, make sure the estimator goes over the estimate and explains the repair process to you. make sure you feel comfortable with the shop you choose. Most importantly, YOU choose the repair shop, do not be steered to a shop that does not have your best interest in mind. If they have signed an agreement with an insurance group, we guarantee you, they do not work for you, they work for them, the insurance group.