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Collision Industry Conference debates alternatives to initial estimate writing |
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Tuesday, 01 May 2007 |
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Page 1 of 3
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| Biggs |
Scott Biggs, CEO of the Assured Performance Network of collision
repair shops, said decades ago, estimates were as simple as, “Fix car,
$300.”
“Now you have 180 lines and insurers saying, ‘No, we don’t pay for that, and we need to cap this,’” Biggs said. “What if repairers stopped itemizing the estimate? Just think about it for a minute. It doesn’t matter how you got to that number at the bottom. You can use whatever means. But how do you debate when there are no lines? How do you argue about the door rate when there are no lines?”
George Avery, a claims consultant with State Farm, said there are several factors that can necessitate the need for more detail on estimates. Some states, most notably California, have strict guidelines for what must be specified on the estimate for the consumer.
“There are also some obligations I have (to the insured) with, for example, the use of recycled parts,” Avery said. “I have a promise I give the customer that we will warrant any recycled parts used on the car.”
But Avery said that given that nearly two-thirds of estimates for State Farm work are written by shops in the company’s Service First/Select Service programs, there could be potentially less need for a detailed estimate up-front if other such obligations could be met.
“It could be as simple as the repairer saying, ‘I just want to let you know I have this car here. There are no issues associated with appearance allowance, betterment or depreciation, and I don’t have any recycled or aftermarket parts on this car,’” Avery said. “I could be in a position where I would say, go ahead. You’re going to have an obligation eventually in your final repair bill to explain what you did to the car. So I think this is one of those things that we could talk about.”
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