Billing Insurance

[lwoodcox]

I am wondering about taking insurance. My husband just got into the business and has not
been taking insurance, I think this is causing him to lose business. Any suggestions? I have already gotten all paperwork to Safelite which should get some business also. Thanks for your help. I read all I can to help him.

[GlassStarz]

I would contact ACT they can sign you up with all the networks they charge a fee to process each claim but its really easy and if you find yourself doing a bunch of insurance claims and want to do the billing yourself and save the fee you may switch. Great way to start I chose to stick with them but dont do a lot of Insurance work.

[stihlcarven]

Avoid ACT like the plague. I am nearing completion of a step by step billing guideline that includes phone# and web addy's to every insurance network...also I am going to include every toll free phone number you will ever need to call for every insurance company I know of and a list of every insurance company I know of that does not participate in wsr...the 800 #'s I have will be direct lines to the auto glass department of every network with seperate #'s for each ins. co. Hang in there and give me a couple more days...I am working on it a few minutes a night in my spare time. You will save time, money, and great, great headache and grief by doing your own billing. We trusted a company to do our billing and paid for it in far more ways than just the enormous fees. I am still trying to remove the vaseline. Don't let anyone tell you its in your best interest to turn your invoices over to a 4th party. Dealing with the networks is already adding a 3rd party since most ins. co. use another company for wsr claims. They screw up enough let alone a 4th party. So, your own screw ups, add third party screw ups, plus 4th party screw ups??? = disaster.

[SGT]

I do not want to jump on board or discredit your troubles but I am feeling dumb today. Can you clarify your definition of doing your own billing? I ask becuase I used to direct bill and have posted quite a bit on it here in forum years ago and it is a pain in the @#$. So many newer techs that have not been around may not understand the difference between Insurance Co., Network, EDI service provider and direct billing.

Are you bypassing all parties(Lynx, SGC, HSG, ACT, eDirect etc...) and sending invoices to each insurance company directly?

or

Are you just not using ACT?


I currently use eDirect just becuase I need to use something until Lynx will let me EDI on there website like HSG and SGC then I will have no use for and EDI service provider.

[stihlcarven]

I am simply doing it for myself.Anything another company can do for you you can easily do for yourself. It is not a hassle, it is not hard, it is not confusing, it is the simplest thing. Simply signing your shop up under each network...not individual ins. co...they all use one of a small handful of companys. You dont need any one to submit anything for you...ever..When I post my step by step soon I will make it as clear as I needed it when I started....believe me, I needed it spelled out for me word for word and then some. The only expense you will encounter for hardware is a cheapo fax machine..less than $40...maybe less than $30......so no, I am not bypassing the networks at all I am just invoicing them myself..literaly 5 -10 minutes a night.The multiple list of toll free numbers are different for each ins co but they all lead to that companys network...10 ins co's might all use safelite but the 800# are different ...that way when they answer the phone it is answered under each ins. co name...I am going to stop now cause I have a way of making boiling water sound confusing when I try to keep things short...

[GlassStarz]

Here we go again rather than say something like "You can avoid paying a 3rd party like ACT by billing yourself" You have to say something dumb like the plague comment This is a place to give help and advice and quite honestly in reviewing your past posts I see little or none of either. If you cant be positive then sit back listen and learn or just go away. She came here for help in taking insurance payments companies like ACT charge a fee but also get you signed up with the networks many of which will not sign you up on your own until you have been in buisness for a year. New buisness techs have enough to deal with finding customers Anything that makes it easier to earn a living is a positive useing someone for your billing makes it easier we all know how dealing with an insurance company can be a pain.
If they are just starting and want to imeadiatly start taking insurance payments there is no better way than a Company like ACT in short get with the program or just get. Give the folks positive advce and genuinely try to help someone else make a living at this rather than throwing flaming bags of poo like a 12 year old

[stihlcarven]

I've about had enough of your gas. Billing insurance is in NO WAY a pain. Are they paying you or something??? Cause for someone who does very little insurance work you sure do seem to be backing ACTS horse. Why don't you smarten up a lil. I've been doing this a long time...chances are longer than you..so you learn something. You learn to recognize who the people are who are trying to help people and who the people are who are trying to screw people...you seem clueless on both...you obviously either don't read my posts, or you simply lack basic reasoning, and comprehension skills. I am a pretty sharp cookie....I might go off half cocked at times but make no mistake.....I am more than capable of holding my own in any arena involving this business....and by reading both your posts and responses, you don't seem all that slick to me....so no offense sport, but if you dont have anything else to say besides worshipping some entity that you seldom have interaction with..well then...you are too far gone to save...wasn't that your words??? You keep on trying unsuccessfully to make me look like I don't know what I'm talking about. I suggest you git....take a hike....people are on to your wierd adoration with ACT...ITS VERY STRANGE...anyhow sporto...learn some respect and post something intellegent....or don't post anything at all...your nonesense is confusing people....by the way son...theres no cure for the plague. Dont worry glasstarz...I will very soon post how to bill on your own and include every drop of info anyone will ever need...on this forum and every single windshield forum out there...Everyone reading this ...BILLING INSURANCE IS SOOOOOO EASY!!! WHY WOULD YOU PAY SOMEONE TO SIMPLY FAX AN INVOICE FOR YOU, or submit it on the billing networks website(which is available to everyone) AND CHARGE YOU $6 AN INVOICE??? ON TOP OF THAT WHY WOULD YOU DO IT WITH A COMPANY THAT LOSES SO MANY INVOICES?? so you do 100 repairs a month??? that's $600 a month...you pay for inconvenience,hassle,snotty attitudes,withholding your money,it goes on and on....you want to succeed at wsr? become as self sufficient as possible...rely on someone else to make sure you succeed and YOU WILL FAIL. No one has as much interest in your business as yourself....I am suceeding...on my own....if you need that major level of support then you should sell your tools and go get a job.

[GLASSTIME]

OK! OK! You boys settle down now! LOL

Look ultimately it is a personal prefrence. It's like you either eat at McDonalds or you don't! It's in the same basket! I will agree that there are some benefits to having an EDI company such as ACT to process your invoices for you. Unfortanetly so many new techs are so eager to get started they suddenly and rationally say "WHere do I sign" I don't think alot of newbies and vets take the time needed to research and research some more. I think it's reminds them of work!

I get what SGT is saying. I could see where billing Insurance companies directly ould be a headace and quite frankly I've had enough of those the last 2 years of life! eh?

Then again i also see and can relate to Stihlcraven's frustration and eagerness to lend a "FREE" helping hand to all of us. Even if you dont use his program, hey at least you will have a full list of phone numbers for yourself. I see it as a WIN WIN situation. I'm not to sure why ACT is the main focus of this thread other than that of Stihlcraven's past experiances which are relatively true. Why are we not hearing about DataTranz, Quest, eDirectGlass, IBS? I feel if you think a moment we can all agree to the conclusion.


At a personal experiance I use ACT currently. Not too happy with their services But when the day comes and Lynx allows you to bill via their website like SGC I too like SGT will be obsolete from their client base!!!! I would like everyone to know my experiance so I will explain cause I know your just dying to hear another....

The problem with using ACT and I will say it like that because I can't speak for the other EDI service providers out there is when you sign up with them you basically just accepted a headache in the end. WHat i am saying is let's say you go right now and sign up with SGC yourself You get approved ( your lucky) then you finish up by signing up with the others (Lynx, Harmon ect.) MMMM a month down the road you get interested in "ACT" so you go aboard. What just happened is all the hard work you just done doesn't belong to you anymore, You'll no longer have access to login to Lynx, Login to SGC or Harmon. Now ACT owns your ID's sort of speak. All communications aren't direct to you any longer and everything goes through ACT FIRST!

You basically are ACT's puppy! Now when you have a problem like Stihlcraven has experianced or Myself and you want to get away from ACT and start billing via the SGC website yourself because you will save a load of money and Headaches. You now are considered a "Non Preferred Glass Shop" have that told to your customers!! Yeah it feels real good and makes you feel like your the biggest Professional on the block! Yeah Right!

Just one minute.... ACT Thank You! Thank You from the bottom of my heart! And yes they read the forum in case you didn't know!

ANyways I say do what you feel is comforting. If you want to sign up with any of the EDI processors please by all means you have the right! But please read and listen to what people are saying then do your own research off those comments. Just because one currently hasn't experianced a problem with someones service or product doesn't mean theres not a dozen more that have. It's ultimately your choice!

I know when I started out in business some 6/7 years ago i've lost count! LOL I needed to get and keep as much profit as I could. Eventually the saying played effect "The more you make the more you spend" but hey in the begining I needed every dollar to survive! This goes for any company unless you ahve a capital of $15k or more.

I know you will do the right thing. You will be a success and Thanks' for joining this forum! We all here have various ideas, understandings and misunderstandings but in the end we are all the same! We all have a passion for this industry!

Now lets all do a great big GROUP Hug! and get along! We are brothers and Sisters!
God Bless!

[Brent Deines]

Okay guys, I'm trying to give you both some leeway here, but please, no more name calling.

When Stihlcarven posts his instructions for insurance billing, forum members will be able to decide for themselves if they can do it on their own. This can be a very valuable debate but only if we can keep it civil.

Many technicians agree with Stihlcarven that it is not all that hard to bill the networks without using another company to submit the invoices for them, but others prefer to pay someone to do that for them. What I think would be beneficial here is to list the benefits you realize from your preferred billing method or billing partner. Here are a few things that I think windshield repair technicians look at when deciding how to do their insurance billing.

Cost (Dependent on volume?)
Time
Convenience
How easy to learn and use
Your own shop ID with the networks
Ability to easily switch billing partners if you find one that works better for you
Contractual obligations
Record keeping
Mobile capabilities

Keep in mind that we are not just talking about ACT vs doing your own billing here. There are a number of companies who offer insurance billing solutions and the one you choose, if any, may be somewhat dependent on your volume and business model.

Oops, I just realized Chad beat me to the draw. Way to steal my thunder chad!

[GLASSTIME]

Brent,

I thought I would save you the time! No problem! LOL

I owe an apology to StihlCarven as i realized I have been mispelling his name. It's not StihlCraven it's StihlCarven! Cool i hope you will accept my apologies!