ASK AN EXPERT: Who Should You Trust? Your Doctor… or… Your Insurer?

by John and Theresa Kightlinger

On the surface, this question may sound ridiculous. That’s probably because it is. But let’s play it out a little. Let’s suppose you have a medical condition that requires a surgical procedure to get you back to optimal health. (Hopefully you do not, but just play along.) Who will you consult to determine the best course of treatment and to perform the needed procedure? Will you go to a board-certified surgeon with 30+ years of training and experience in the area of your specific surgery? Or, will you call the hourly employee your insurance carrier hired six months ago and ask how he or she would go about cutting into your body to repair or remove the ailing organ? Who would you and should you trust?

Unless you genuinely have a death wish, it’s more likely you will actually speak to—and trust—the opinion and specific skillset of the doctor whose sole job is to perform this specific surgery. However, once you’ve decided to trust the doctor, how do you know that you’ve put your trust in the right doctor? Is one doctor the same as any other? Is it enough to know the doctor has a degree and has been given permission to operate on you? Would you choose the doctor who has successfully performed the specific surgery hundreds of times? Or do you take advice from the one who has never performed the procedure and who has been hired by your insurer and taught to recommend the least expensive procedure to save the insurer money? How do you know who to really trust with your life? In this day and age, it simply makes good sense for you to do your due diligence and find out who is the best qualified to handle your specific medical condition.

Now, consider the parallels to experiencing an auto collision and needing to find a service to repair today’s highly sophisticated and technical automobiles. Suppose, God forbid, you get into an accident. The first thing you do if you’re like most people is to call your auto insurer. And when you do, you are immediately assigned to one of their claims adjusters. You then bring your car to a body shop where, after careful inspection, someone prepares a comprehensive repair plan for you only to discover that your insurance adjuster disagrees with that repair plan. The insurance company denies payment for the shop’s plan and instead renders its own plan. This begs the question: Who should you trust?

In essence, this is the same question posed in the previous medical example. The body shop’s sole business is to repair vehicles just like yours. Some repairers have made significant investments in time for ongoing training and money to acquire the required equipment to ensure they are up-to-date with the ever-changing standards put out by the vehicle manufacturers to provide the absolute right repair for your vehicle. On the other hand, the insurance adjuster may have weeks, months, maybe even years  of sitting behind a desk and authorizing or denying payments, but no actual hands-on experience in performing repairs. Very few have ever had to straighten a frame, replace a welded-on panel, or refinish a vehicle.

A wise man once said, “Never Take Advice on How to Collect Money From Those That Owe it to You!”

It’s reasonable to assume you would put your trust in the expert—the body shop—over the company whose sole job is to pay for the repair. But it may not be as simple as that. You may not be aware of the fact that many of the body shops out there have entered into agreements where they have actually partnered with insurance companies! In such instances, the repairer and insurer work together to reduce claims costs, which often results in cutting corners and lowering the quality of repair by using junkyard and/or non-original equipment manufacturer (non-OEM) parts. The insurer profits from the savings and the participating repairers receive direct referrals from the insurer so that they both benefit, all too often at the vehicle owner’s risk and expense.

Many shops, unfortunately, do not research current repair procedures from the vehicle’s original manufacturer. At the same time, they may not have the proper tools to complete your repair. As a result your vehicle repair—which should restore its safety, performance, appearance and value to the very best of a good technician’s abilities—instead is sacrificed due to a mutual working arrangement between the repairer and the insurer.

So, once again, who should you trust? How do you know who to go with? Just as in the medical example, when selecting an auto repair shop, you should do your due diligence. Should the need arise, find a body shop that has no partnerships with the insurance companies. You should research the shop and the quality of the shop’s service and repair. Read online reviews about other people’s experiences. Interview your selected repairer and ask if the shop adheres to current manufacturers’ procedures—each and every time. All of this information is available either online or through a single phone call to the shop itself. You can even ask to take a tour of the shop. Once you make that all-important decision, only then should you ask for an estimate of repair.

Whether looking for the right doctor or the right body shop, doesn’t it make sense to go with the best? Isn’t it reasonable to want to bring your situation to the ones who are going to do the job right—the first me?

Our advice is simple: Take your car to a repairer of your choice; put your trust in the people who care about you and who are committed to you and your family’s safety and economic well-being by fixing your car correctly; leave the payment to the people who are responsible for paying for it.

Remember: Cheaper is Never Better and Better is Never Cheaper!

Want to know more, My Body Shop welcomes your call or visit!