Insurance-Help

Insurance Help

Whether you choose to use Leading Edge Auto Body or another repair shop, don't be manipulated by the insurance companies to your disadvantage.

The Un-Truths That You Should Know About

These are often heard phrases or word tracks from Insurance Companies when you want to bring your vehicle to Leading Edge Auto Body or any shop that is not on their "List". Please read below these quotes to find out the truth.

They are not one of our network shops and they are not on our list.

We can't guarantee the repairs"
Whether or not we are a network shop, we warranty our work for you as do most shops in the industry. The insurance company is in the business of covering your loss, not fixing cars. Our work is the finest quality and you will be fully satisfied.

"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, we have heard insurance companies tell our customers how busy they are and 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 if you have rental car coverage or if the other person's company is covering your loss. But some insurance companies will 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 a check for x amount of rental days (which you should promptly refuse to do). Most companies have direct bill agreements with rental companies, but they do not always disclose that. Always remember as a claimant against a company, that you also have specific rights that 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 cost was 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 state 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 the 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 thing that takes longer is they are sometimes slow to respond 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, and you have the right to make the choice on of who repairs your vehicle.
Did you know some insurance companies have ownership in some shops?

Don't be steered from your best interests by your insurance company or the other parties insurance company.

Makes you wonder who the customer really is. Leading Edge Auto Body does not participate in many of the repair networks because of the concessions or stipulations in the contracts which generally leads to a lower cost/lower quality repair. We believe we have a responsibility to the vehicle owner who is ultimately our customer, not the insurance company.
Some companies also have bonus programs for employees that steer claims to the networks, so don't think that they have your best interest in mind.

The reason insurance companies use carefully crafted word tracks is that the state does not allow insurance companies to "direct", "steer" or "refer" customers to a particular shop (or they are not supposed to), so they have come up with the preceding word tracks to intimidate the customer into thinking they have to do what the insurance company says, or they will not pay the claim. 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 whoever their company has a "deal" with so that they hit a bonus quota.

After your accident

Now you have had an accident, maybe you have even already called your insurance company, but you are really not sure what to do. After all, people just don't have accidents every day and so they really don't know what to do. Accidents can be a very traumatic experience because you might have a number of questions, but you just don't know who to ask. You should take care in choosing a body shop after you have had an accident because it can make a big difference. We want to try to answer all of the questions that you may have and our site is filled with a great deal of information to educate you. You can always just give us a call and we will be happy to answer any questions you might have and we would be happy to prepare you a written estimate on the damages to your vehicle.

We hope this information has helped you understand the insurance process. If you have any questions, please give us a call 410-433-6433