The most critical issue that should be addressed, if you are involved in an auto accident is to see to any injuries which may have resulted.
The next order of business is to contact your insurance company representative.
So let's say you phone your insurance representative to tell him you have been involved in a car accident, and he appears extremely helpful.
He'll probably suggest an auto body shop you may take your car to.
"Terrific" you may think.
You need not endure the hassle of looking for a repair shop, nor must you do any "homework" looking for body shops to get one that's dependable and that you can trust to do good work.
After all, you would like to get your vehicle fixed at the earliest opportunity.
But what if you prefer to utilize a body shop that you are already familiar with? So you notify your agent that you want to take you car to a different body shop.
But he reacts with something such as "We won't guarantee the repair when you go there" or "You'll need to pay extra if you go to the shop that you picked" or some other statement intended to discourage you from going to your shop and motivate (or even try to coerce) you to go to the company's "preferred" shop.
Now you may be pondering what to make of his response.
You might be wanting to know exactly why he is aiming to dissuade you from opting for your own shop.
To answer this particular concern, you need to understand what the final aim of an insurer is: and that's NOT to "share risk" or "provide ideal service"...
but to make a profit, and as large a profit as possible! And that can be achieved by lessening the amount they must spend in insurance claims.
So the "preferred" repair service your agent is steering you to is certainly "preferred"...
preferred by the insurance provider for THEIR advantage, not yours.
Why? Because the preferred body shop has agreed (in writing) to use auto parts that are less expensive than factory parts.
This can mean using inferior parts, and perhaps not doing all that is vital to correctly repair your car.
It might even mean that your car will be dangerous to drive after the fixes have been completed.
But there are additional, and far more ominous reasons why the repairs may not be completed in a safe manner.
There's a procedure called "Clipping", which means cutting off an entire half of your vehicle (either the front or rear half) and affixing the other (undamaged) half of a car which had been wrecked.
This process actually involves cutting through the vehicle's unibody or frame, and it affects its structural integrity.
Does this sound unsafe to you? Well it is! But sadly, it isn't illegal.
It's a frequent incident.
So the bottom line is - if you are involved in an auto accident - beware! If your insurance representative attempts to steer you towards a preferred auto body repair shop, find out if the repair shop utilizes OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts, or lower quality "aftermarket" parts.
And if the shop uses "clipping"...
then RUN the other way!
The next order of business is to contact your insurance company representative.
So let's say you phone your insurance representative to tell him you have been involved in a car accident, and he appears extremely helpful.
He'll probably suggest an auto body shop you may take your car to.
"Terrific" you may think.
You need not endure the hassle of looking for a repair shop, nor must you do any "homework" looking for body shops to get one that's dependable and that you can trust to do good work.
After all, you would like to get your vehicle fixed at the earliest opportunity.
But what if you prefer to utilize a body shop that you are already familiar with? So you notify your agent that you want to take you car to a different body shop.
But he reacts with something such as "We won't guarantee the repair when you go there" or "You'll need to pay extra if you go to the shop that you picked" or some other statement intended to discourage you from going to your shop and motivate (or even try to coerce) you to go to the company's "preferred" shop.
Now you may be pondering what to make of his response.
You might be wanting to know exactly why he is aiming to dissuade you from opting for your own shop.
To answer this particular concern, you need to understand what the final aim of an insurer is: and that's NOT to "share risk" or "provide ideal service"...
but to make a profit, and as large a profit as possible! And that can be achieved by lessening the amount they must spend in insurance claims.
So the "preferred" repair service your agent is steering you to is certainly "preferred"...
preferred by the insurance provider for THEIR advantage, not yours.
Why? Because the preferred body shop has agreed (in writing) to use auto parts that are less expensive than factory parts.
This can mean using inferior parts, and perhaps not doing all that is vital to correctly repair your car.
It might even mean that your car will be dangerous to drive after the fixes have been completed.
But there are additional, and far more ominous reasons why the repairs may not be completed in a safe manner.
There's a procedure called "Clipping", which means cutting off an entire half of your vehicle (either the front or rear half) and affixing the other (undamaged) half of a car which had been wrecked.
This process actually involves cutting through the vehicle's unibody or frame, and it affects its structural integrity.
Does this sound unsafe to you? Well it is! But sadly, it isn't illegal.
It's a frequent incident.
So the bottom line is - if you are involved in an auto accident - beware! If your insurance representative attempts to steer you towards a preferred auto body repair shop, find out if the repair shop utilizes OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts, or lower quality "aftermarket" parts.
And if the shop uses "clipping"...
then RUN the other way!
SHARE
