If you follow the above steps in the beginning of the transaction, instead of your customer screaming at you, he or she will be screaming at the people that should hear it. That's right - the insurance company. They've already been told to send the check to your customer, therefore it is their responsibility to get that check to your customer. This makes it personal with your customer and the insurance company, leaving you in the clear. The insurance company gets an earful and I can almost guarantee you will get a call from the adjuster begging you to release the vehicle. Feeling a little better? Who's in the drivers seat now?

On top of this, if the check is inadvertently sent to your shop, call your customer to come pick up their vehicle or mail the check to the customer. Either way you are covered, and your accounts receivable will drop. You will no longer have to make phone call after phone call chasing the money that is rightfully owed to you. This will free up time for your office staff to be more productive and alleviate one source of stress.

In this way, you are legally keeping the commitment where it belongs - with your customer. When the repair is completed, it is up to the customer whether to pay the bill or wait for the check to pick up the vehicle. You fulfilled your commitment to repair the vehicle and now are entitled to be paid.

DRPs are another story

As far as DRPs are concerned, a staff person needs to stay on top of these accounts. My experience is that if you have not received payment within ten days of sending the file up, you are not going to get paid. Start calling on it immediately or prepare yourself for a battle.

If you let it slide for twenty or thirty days without following up, you have just increased the delay. Claim reps file these claims away since they want them closed as soon as possible. Once they are filed away, there is tendency for the case to fall through the cracks. Furthermore, at this point, without the customer's input, there is little incentive for speed on the part of the representative.

Hopefully this technique will help you collect your hard earned money and let you direct your attention to serving your customers by performing quality work.

The author of this article is known by Autobody News to be a credible member of the collision repair industry. We have chosen to run this story without a byline because the writer fears possible repercussions to his shop by certain insurance companies.