subject: Car Accident And Insurance Company Falsehoods [print this page] In any large metropolis, car traffic is often horrendous, and this is particularly true during peak hours of the day. A car accident in Cincinnati, Houston, San Diego, Phoenix, or any major city can result at any time. It's no secret that a car accident may have very serious consequences, which includes catastrophic injury and even fatalities. Luckily, in a lot of accidents the damage is mostly to the vehicles involved, and injury is marginal.
Now if you're involved in a motor vehicle accident you'll in due course (and most likely sooner) be making a telephone call to your insurance representative. However it might come as a surprise to you to find out that the advice you receive from your insurance agent might not be trustworthy, and we will examine the reason.
But before we begin our explanation, let's talk briefly about a "Direct Repair Program" and explain what it is. A direct repair program is a contractual agreement between a car insurance company and a repair shop. In this example, the body shop has agreed to provide car repairs for the insurance company's claimants. The insurer is in return, required to advocate that body shop to their clients in need of auto repairs.
Under the arrangement the auto body shop, when estimating repair, must base those estimations on the use of aftermarket parts. And the collision shop may additionally be required to bear all liability for auto repairs and indemnify the insurance company from any lawsuit the customer might bring.
Now here's the reason this agreement is so troubling: the vehicle components the body shop is required to make use of under this contract, while less pricey, are also of lesser quality compared to parts that originally came with the vehicle. The aftermarket parts are not only ineffective, but utilizing them to affect car repairs can result in a deadly vehicle.
But if utilizing these types of parts can prove so serious, what's the reason an insurer would lead you to a body shop that uses them? In a word, PROFITS - since it means the vehicle repairs will cost less, and that the insurer pays out lesser claims. Hence your insurance provider is going to be saving money to be able to increase their earnings, at the expense of compromising the value of your vehicle, and possibly your safety and that of your family members!
So because second-rate parts were used in order to save your insurance company some money, the outcome may well be another (and possibly more serious) accident as a result.
Whenever you're involved in a car accident, turn in a claim, but your agent desires you to visit a body shop of HIS choice in lieu of one of yours, listen for the following:
"It's going to run you even more to go there " - "We won't warranty the vehicle repairs if you go there" - "Never head over to that body shop since we can not offer you a rental car if you go there " - "They won't agree with our appraiser" - "We've had a hard time with that repair shop" - "They are not on our preferred list" - "If you go to a non-preferred shop your repair will be delayed waiting for our adjuster to inspect the vehicle" - "We can pay our preferred shops directly, and save you time"
All of these statements are either misleading or are straight up falsehoods. Don't be misled by them!
Never permit your insurance company's desired resolution of a car accident to result in another (and perchance much more serious) car accident. You have the right, or even the obligation, to take your car to a repair center that places safety above insurance company profits!
by: Jim Eastman
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