The benefits of preferred repair shops

For everyone from the harried businessman to the working mother who has little time to haggle with an insurer, preferred repair shops offer a convenient and quick way to get your car back into working order.

Preferred repair shops can benefit everyone involved if they're run correctly, says Mark Cobb, owner of Cobb's Collision Center, an independent body shop in Windham, Maine. "Preferred shops can eliminate lengthy rental periods and repair delays," he says.

Preferred shops and referral shops offer policyholders a level of comfort they might not get at an independent shop, says Scott Tabak, owner of Frank's Auto Body, a referral shop located in Taunton, Mass., which does work for Amica Mutual Insurance Co., Arbella Insurance Co., Commerce Insurance Co,, and Plymouth Rock Insurance Co. "In the referral shops, the insurance company is guaranteeing that the policyholder won't be hung out to dry, no matter what happens in the repair."

Insurers say that their preferred shops offer one advantage over the other body shops: speed. "The main advantage is the efficiency with which the repair is made," says Dave Hurst of State Farm. "The repair is likely to get done a little bit faster at one of our preferred shops."

Hurst also stresses that State Farm policyholders who use the company's preferred auto body shops aren't sacrificing quality for speed. He points out that State Farm's preferred shops have to meet certain quality standards to even be considered for the preferred program.

"We have a vested interest that the repairs are done right," says Gerald Manuel of Travelers. "That's why Travelers guarantees the repairs of its Umbrella Auto Repair Service shops 100 percent." Manuel adds that it's important to be able to answer the question many policyholders ask: "Where should I take my wrecked car?"

"It's a real value to the consumers knowing that they're taking the car to a quality body shop," confirms Shan Haider, former auto property damage supervisor and current special investigative unit manager for Farmers Insurance Co. In body shops that are not part of Farmers' preferred program, the insurer has detected a flurry of safety problems following repairs. "We saw cars that had suspension damage and shops were putting on used suspension parts. That's something we don't tolerate," she says.

Quality repairs in question

Insurers generally stand behind the repairs done by their preferred shops and say that one of the main goals of preferred body shop programs is to get policyholders the best repairs and service. But some body shops are questioning the safety of preferred-shop repairs.

"The referral process has lowered the standard of the repair," accuses Tabak. "Some shops are short-cutting repairs and whoever owns that vehicle ultimately suffers." Tabak says that body shops will often repair a car's sheet metal parts rather than replace them, or put a reconditioned part on the vehicle and pass it off as new. "They're putting their business' liability on the line when they do that."

Bill Denya, owner of Denya's Auto Body in Meriden, Conn., and president of the Connecticut Auto Body Association, says, "The preferred-repair process erodes the repair from what I've seen." Denya explains that the discounts on parts and labor that the preferred shops give insurers forces the shops to cut corners elsewhere.

So what's the solution? It would be grossly unfair to condemn the preferred-repair process as a whole because it can — and very often does — work. However, overzealous body shops and claims adjusters have corrupted portions of the repair process by cutting corners on repairs, steering consumers away from certain body shops, and perpetuating an insurance-employee gift system that undermines a consumer's freedom of choice.
Back to page 1