Insurance industry research into customer satisfaction and retention has shown the single biggest factor in determining if a customer who has had a claim gives the insurer a good grade and sticks with them at renewal is how quickly that insurer shows them the money.
That’s part of what makes direct repair programs work for insurers. The customer gets their car fixed quickly, the shop gets its money quickly, and (at least in theory) everybody’s happy.
But in a non-DRP claim, if that customer’s car sits for two weeks waiting for an insurer re-inspection, that customer is far more apt to give the insurer a less-than-stellar CSI score or switch to another insurer.
I think that’s why insurers seem to be looking for ways to improve the claims experience even for those policyholders who go outside the DRP network. I think this is what has led the information providers to create systems that allow participating insurers and non-DRP shops to exchange assignments and estimates, much in the way shops and insurers do within a DRP. To me, this is an opportunity for shops not involved in a particular DRP to get the benefits of an expedited process, and for shops and insurers to benefit from customer satisfaction and retention.
But using such a system doesn’t guarantee that the shop is going to get paid for anything and everything on the estimate. There are still going to be things that a body shop wants to charge for that insurance companies don’t want to pay. So to be successful at getting reimbursed in an expedited non-DRP environment, there are some things a shop will have to do well.
First, the shop will need to be able to provide good photos. Someone sitting at a desk two states away must be able to review the images and clearly understand the damages included on the estimate, especially panel repair times. I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the images insurers have received, and when I compared them to what I see when I actually looked at the car, they’re like night and day.
So get better photos by reviewing the Collision Industry Conference’s best practices for digital imaging. Guidelines can be found at ABRN.com/CICimaging. Consider sending your appraisers to a photography course (perhaps at your local community college), or bringing in a professional photographer or instructor for an evening training session. Check out the free online 14-minute video on “collision photography” that is part of State Farm’s Hi-Tech Toolbox at ABRN.com/CollisionPhotos.
The second thing shops can do is to reduce ambiguity and provide good estimate line notes. Use line notes to explain, for example, why an item needs to be removed and reinstalled. Is that R&I, for example, necessary to gain access to a control point for measuring? Or is it for internal refinish purposes or safety issues within a weld zone area? These are the sorts of line items that might be obvious or discussed during an on-site inspection of the vehicle, but might be less clear to someone auditing the estimate remotely. Good line notes will reduce this ambiguity. They also offer additional benefits for shops when it comes to parts ordering; it’s the ideal place for estimators to include details about the parts that will be needed to ensure the shop orders the right parts the first time.
Thirdly, you can attach and send with the estimate automaker repair procedures or other documentation that supports line items listed on the estimate. If disabling the supplemental inflatable restraint (SIR system) is necessary for repairs, for example, the line note on the estimate might state, “Per OEM requirement; see attached PDF.”
I’m not saying you have to do these things when dealing with non-DRP claims, but I believe these steps will increase your chances of getting paid more quickly without the delays involved in a re-inspection. That benefits everyone involved.
