How do your auto claims get processed?

by Guest » Tue Feb 04, 2014 02:01 pm
Guest

Take a few minutes of your time and look at [link deleted per TOU]. The site is totally free, we're just trying to share some information that may open a few eyes around the country.

Total Comments: 2

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 02:39 pm Post Subject:

"2. Ask the repair facility if they use new "Original Equipment Manufacturer" parts, purchased from the dealer, or imitation "knock off" parts. If the shop says they use Imitation parts, or aftermarket parts, leave immediately. No one can perform quality work with junk parts."

Every shop will use the parts the owner wants. I've yet to see a shop that refuses to make 25% on the inflated price of OEM parts. However, the vehicle owner will most likely need to pay the difference in any price. This is true of any shop you take the vehicle to.

And why exactly should a customer be on the hook to pay extra money out of pocket to get their vehicle restored to proper pre-accident condition?

"Ask the shop if they have any affiliation with insurance company Direct Repair Programs (DRP). If they are under contract to work for any specific insurance company, they cannot work for you. Working for both sides is not ethical."

Not only do those two things not have anything to do with each other, it's not even close to being unethical.

A DRP repairs a vehicle for the insurance company, they make the decisions. Tell me how you can put both the insurance company and the customer first? You can't.

"The DRP agreements require the facility to work on "their" cars first"

Do you have anything to support this claim?

Yes, I've owned a body shop for 26 years. If you want to stay on the DRP list, your cycle time must be low. The only way to accomplish this is to prioritize the DRP vehicles.

"Remember their bonus is tied to "low prices"

Is this like that "team of lawyers" I'm supposed to have as well? I need to talk to someone about these "bonuses" I"m always getting.

This may not be true in your case, but many adjusters have bonuses tied to average estimate and supplement amounts.

Body shops make 25% on parts delivered to them (it's just pure profit). 25% on inflated parts prices is a nice "bonus". So body shops make bonuses on using more expensive parts. Why is this not mentioned?

First of all, inflated parts prices have nothing to do with the body shop. Second, this pure profit you speak of on parts has to be used to pay employees and shop costs to stay open. That 25% you speak of doesn't go very far at the end of the day.

"Besides being less expensive, and in turn saving the insurance company money, the quality fit and finish is also substandard. Safety is another concern, as these parts have not been crash tested"

You need to check your facts... this is 100% incorrect.

Check your facts as well. A simple Google search will tell you that A/M parts do not have to be crash tested.

"Do I have to accept Aftermarket parts on my vehicle?"
"In the case of a claimant you have more leverage with the insurance company."

Actually you have less as it's then governed by state law and almost every state allows payment for LKQ parts.

LKQ and A/M are two separate things. One is used OEM, the other new third party knock off.

I thought the video under AM parts was funny. Someone cuts through a bumper and then chisels their way through spot welds... because this is apparently what happens in a crash. Hey, how about doing it the correct way and crash test those vehicle's to get an accurate test?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 03:06 pm Post Subject:

And why exactly should a customer be on the hook to pay extra money out of pocket to get their vehicle restored to proper pre-accident condition?



1) Most auto policies no longer use those terms, 2) Most courts allow LKQ on 3rd party claims and 3) There is no good indication that using LKQ does not return the vehicle back to the same condition.

Truth is, LKQ parts also keep OEM price way down.

A DRP repairs a vehicle for the insurance company, they make the decisions. Tell me how you can put both the insurance company and the customer first? You can't



Proving a negative usually can't be done. You need to support your claim. An appraiser inspects a vehicle and writes up an estimate. The body shop repairs the vehicle according to that estimate. It happens every day and all shops do it. A shop prepares the estimate the same way the appraiser would and repairs the vehicle. How, all of a sudden, is the shop "unethical"?

Yes, I've owned a body shop for 26 years. If you want to stay on the DRP list, your cycle time must be low. The only way to accomplish this is to prioritize the DRP vehicles.



For every carrier I've worked for we allowed rental based on 4-6 hours of work per day. A shop which is open 9 hours can't work on a vehicle for 4-6 hours? If you can't repair all the vehicles in your shop in a timely manner maybe you had too much work or too few people. If the turn around time was so unreasonable why did you repair vehicle's for insurance companies?

First of all, inflated parts prices have nothing to do with the body shop.

It clearly does. A shop makes 25% off the parts. It's pure profit. The higher the cost of the part, the more money the shop puts in the bank.

Second, this pure profit you speak of on parts has to be used to pay employees and shop costs to stay open. That 25% you speak of doesn't go very far at the end of the day.

I don't care how far it goes... it's 100% pure profit... not cost or expenses on it. A guy pushes some parts off a truck into the shops parking lot and you the shop adds on 25% to the cost of the parts. There was no expenses or cost to the shop for that service. My point is not that it's wrong, only that this is a reason why every shop wants to use OEM parts.. because they stand to make more money. If you are going to accuse insurance companies of wanting to save money on LKQ parts then lets be honest and state that body shops want higher priced parts used because it's more free money for them.

Check your facts as well. A simple Google search will tell you that A/M parts do not have to be crash tested.

Already did... they are crash tested. If your information is proven on Google, please include a link.

Yeah, I've written LKQ when I should be writing AM.

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