Can we survive the end of Free Windshield Repair?

[Coitster]

[font=Times New Roman]Hi everyone,[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]I wanted to put a post up regarding all the garbage that is going on with state farm and what that means to our industry. First off let

[Delta Kits]

I agree, except a couple of points.

First, this is a trial program even for State Farm. Meaning, if it doesn't save them money in these 5 states, it won't be rolled out nationwide. You can bet that glass replacements will be going up, so i'm not at all convinced it will be rolled out.

Second, if you're a smaller insurance company, what do you do? Do you immediately roll out nationwide a policy that State Farm only does on a trial basis? Or do you let the big boys (State Farm) spend their money to determine whether it works or not before you proceed? If I owned ANY insurance company, I would hold off, watch for fallout, see if State Farm determines it was the right thing to do, before doing it myself. Hypothetically, if State Farm says "Wow, this saved us billions of dollars," i'm sure other companies will follow suit. If, in one year, they get too many people saying "I'm switching to an insurance company with full glass coverage," they may just stop the trial program. Like I said, I believe most will wait for the outcome.

What do technicians do in the meantime. First, get trained. (Look for a huge announcement from Delta Kits in the coming days about that). Second, if you're in one of those states, adjust your selling strategy a bit.

If they have State Farm, explain to them that virtually every other insurance company in the country offers free windshield repairs, and that maybe they should look into going with a different company. That's really what will make State Farm squirm is if they have unhappy customers. Second, ask what their deductible is.

$250??

Wow, if that cracks out, you'll have to pay $250. Also, you'll have to deal with (insert all replacement vs. repair reasons here). You can pay me $75 to stop it from cracking out. If for some reason it doesn't work, State Farm will reimburse you that $75 when you pay your deductible. What do you have to lose?

Besides, you don't want to file a claim with your insurance do you? That's how those big insurance companies raise your rates...I can fix it right now, $75, no claim to your insurance, and no worries about it cracking out.

Sound good?

Let's use this thread (if David doesn't mind), to come up with adjustments to selling strategies that will allow our friends in these 5 states to sell more cash jobs.

[a1repair]

We too have seen a steady decline in the insurance a.k.a. "free" windshield repair portion of the business over the years up here. Inasmuch as we were never dependant on them, we certainly did not shoo them away, whenever we had the opportunity to do them.

Just last week though, a customer who'd had their windshield repaired by us almost ten years ago by us, called to have another one repaired. So we scurried over there, and, while we were in the process of doing the repair he called his insurance agent and was told that, based on the fact that he had his windshield replaced just last year, that he'd be better off no putting in another claim. So with tears in his eyes he paid us cash. I was happy with the cash, but was a bit surprised at what he was told by his agent. Oh well, we'll just have to see what happens.

[repare-brise]

Great post Coister et al.

I say to all of you in fear of going the way of the dinosoar, don't worry, go get Training(if you haven't already), and take a sales course, Dale Carnegy, or similar course. Then go out and sell, and don't take no for an answer(unless of course the WS is not broken). Go visit insurance brokers for referals, start fleets, add servives to your menu (scratch removal, glass treatments, cloth repair, headlight repair, and anything else you can fit in your car that will generate add on sales), in other words do what needs to be done to stay in this great business.

If you are not willing to adapt, then you will have to start doing real work(may include manual labour, long hours, a boss, and other life shortening side effects), the choice is yours, and you have more than enough time to adapt.

Enjoy

[code3wsr]

I know there are people out there that do insurance work almost every time they do a repair. I thought that was what this business was all about when I first started. I signed up with ACT just to get by untill I could get on with the networks. Then I realized that I average 25 repairs a week ( still getting started...hope it gets busier soon) and of those I maybe do 2 or 3 ins. claims.

It's just not a big part of my business. I have a much eaiser time selling a cash job than trying to convince someone to make an insurance claim. Most people just don't belive that their deductable will be waived and it won't raise their rates. Insted of sending them off to call their agent and maybe lose a sale I offer a cash job. Most people go for paying cash over possibly raising their rates.

Also, I am in a rural area and while there are a lot of new cars around most people here buy a car and hang onto it for a while. After its paid off they drop to liability ins. only. These people still want their car to look nice but dont want to pay full coverage rates. I sell to alot of these type of people, so insurance work is not an option to about 50% of my clients.

I hope all of us will weather this storm and not only survive but come out stronger.

[Coitster]

Actualy Jeff,
I disagree with you about statefarm worrying about loosing a few customers. In the 12 years I have been doing this, insurance companies keep slashing and cutting every year. I have never seen them get any better that whole time. I even though several years ago that it was just a matter of time before they end the Free Windshield Repair program. This doesn't scare me at all. I am actualy secretly for it. Insurance companies just care about the bottom line, if this means they loose a few customers to save over 100 Million a year in claims they will jump all over it.
David
Coitster

[repare-brise]

Ins co's are not woried about loosing clients, we all need insurance(so they say), so at worst customers move around. They have another more effective way of keeping us as customers(in Quebec at least), if you have a few claims in your file, you become an "at risk" client. This means that other companies will refuse to insure you, or will only do it at high rates, in effect forcing you to stay where you are. This practice of-course ends when you have a 5 year clean record(it also coinsides with when the claims you filed are paid off by rate increases).

Not doing insurance work should not be a worry to anyone.

Merci

[Bois]

Code3wsr

Please check your PM.

Dale...

[Coitster]

Well I just recently started working on it again. I took a 8 month breather on it. Its really hard to write on a manual when you have a 5 year old bugging you for all your time. Now that I have a lap top I am able to put more time back into it.
David
Coitster

[jaydog]

Although I'm new, I think insurance work is a joke. When I first started, I obtained the liability insurance, was ready to sign up with ACT and all the networks, then when I started working, all my customers don't want to have anything to do with their insurance companies. They are afraid of raised rates, more hassle, and wine about their $250.00 deductable, even after I tell them it may be free. My customers so far rather pay me the forty or fifty bucks cash and not worry about it anymore. I do tell them that they can take my invoice and try and get reimbursed, but it just seems that they don't want to mess with it. Face it, when you tell them fifty bucks, they automatically think "well it's better than $250. and I won't have a damaging claim"