Why is My Insurance Company Sending Me to a Specific Auto Body Shop?

Last week, I spoke with a customer who said her insurance company wanted her to go to a specific auto body shop because they had one of their insurance adjusters onsite. She said, “isn’t that kind of weird?”

The answer is yes, and she was right to question the process. Insurance companies often place their own adjuster within an auto body shop office, to steer customers to one of their preferred collision repair centers. At “preferred” collision repair centers, insurance adjusters are able to control the cost of the repair. The auto body shop sharing the office agrees to work with them in exchange for a large volume of work.

Preferred for Who?

Obviously, the insurance company prefers customers to choose one of their auto body shops. Consumers should know, saving money sometimes results in repairing parts that should be replaced. It also means less experienced/less expensive technicians working on your vehicle. Repair turn around time is fast, in efforts to control rental car costs. In addition, the auto body shop works quickly to make money in volume since each repair order is less expensive. Premium brand cars like Mercedes, BMW are accepted but not welcomed. After all, foreign high-line cars take longer to disassemble and reassemble. In addition, the customer might also be too critical of the repair.

Efficiency is the Name of Their Game:

Most “preferred” auto body shops are corporate owned and there are locations all over the country. Customers will need an appointment, because of the high volume of estimates. Many times you cannot reach the office at your location. An 800 number is available which will prompt you to their scheduling department or checking status department.

At Airpark Collision Center, if you call our office, you will get our office. The same people that greet our customers call with updates throughout the repair. We are an independently owned auto body repair facility, and feel that our personal service sets us apart from other auto body shops in the area.

One insurance company has a program, that sounds convenient for consumers. Customers simply go to the insurance claims center to drop off and pick up their vehicle. The customer never goes to the auto body shop. The insurance adjuster writes the estimate and then dispatches the customer’s car to an auto body shop on their preferred list that needs repair work. This means the customer has no idea where their car is, or what auto body shop is completing the repair!

Some auto body shops have multiple locations, you may drop your car off in north Scottsdale, but if another one of their locations is slow, the vehicle will be shuttled somewhere else in the valley.

Look Closely at the Reviews:

Nationwide/chain auto body shops have many locations, and the reviews are often from another state. We encourage people to look at local reviews or talk to friends or neighbors. If you can find good local reviews on multiple reputable sites, chances are they are accurate.

Who We Are:

At Airpark Collision Center, we have one location and have been in business for 10 years. Auto body repair is all we do, and we do it right! Almost all of our technicians are over 40 and well experienced. When you drop off your car, truck or SUV at our facility you can be sure that is where the auto body repair will take place.

We work with all insurance companies, without being on all preferred programs. Choosing not to participate on certain preferred programs allows us the opportunity to complete quality work, and represent the customer. If we find that an additional repair is needed and accident related, we will work with the insurance company for approval.

Can You Help Me Get Unrelated Repairs Approved?

Please do not ask us to commit insurance fraud, we won’t do it. We can fix almost anything but someone has to pay for the repair. We cannot make a insurance company approve any repair. There must be evidence that the damage is accident related or they will not pay for the work. Customers that have unrelated damage, will be quoted a competitive price if they choose to pay out of pocket.

Why Choose Us?

We know being involved in a car accident is stressful, and choosing the right auto body shop from the start can make the process much simpler. At Airpark Collision Center, we will work with the insurance company to make sure your vehicle is restored to pre-accident condition. Sometimes it takes an extra day or two to get insurance approval on additional repairs but we are about quality not speed and volume. To prove our commitment to quality we offer a lifetime guarantee on workmanship for as long as you own the vehicle. We invite you in for an estimate, no appointment needed!

Tina Small has been part of the Airpark Collision Center team since 2006. Working directly with customers, her goal is to share frequent customer questions, and proper methods of collision repair.