Nasty State Farm rumor...

[jgm0348]

Today I was talking to a State Farm agent and he told me that next year they will no longer be paying for WSR. They are starting to focus on deductible replacement. Has anyone heard of this?

[Brent Deines]

State Farm hasn't waived deductibles for about 10 years so the only states where that would make a difference is in the few that have zero deductibles for auto glass.

[jgm0348]

Brent I am new to the WSR business, so what does that mean. Does that mean I will not be able to charge against State Farm in Texas? I know that when I replaced my windshield Progressive made me pay the deductable.

[Brent Deines]

No worries, I assumed that was the case. I'm not 100% sure if State Farm will waive the deductible for windshield repairs in Texas so hopefully a forum member from Texas will chime in and answer that question but I will attempt to explain how it works in most states.

Replacement: In most states there is a deductible that needs to be satisfied before an insurance company will pay for a windshield replacement. Some people have a $50 deductible on their comprehensive insurance while others may have a $100, $100, $500 or $1000 deductible. The higher your deductible the lower your insurance premium is and the more out of pocket expense you will have should you need to file a comprehensive claim with your insurance company. I like low rates so I have a $1000 deductible so when I have to replace my windshield I have to pay for it out of my pocket but if I had a $50 deductible I would pay the $50 and the insurance would pick up the balance.

Repair: A legitimate windshield glass repair service saves insurance companies a lot of money so most insurance companies waive the deductible and pay the full price for a windshield repair, so in my case if I have my windshield repaired I pay nothing out of my pocket. This has always been a very big selling point for windshield repair and that is why many windshield repair companies advertise "free" windshield repair. I'm not advocating that you advertise free repairs, just explaining why some feel comfortable doing so. Most of their customers do not have to pay for the repair because their insurance company waives their deductible and picks up the tab.

State Farm used to waive the deductible in all states but some years back they did a study and determined that were paying for a lot of repairs that did not actually need to be done and did not feel they were saving money so they changed their policy and stopped waiving the deductible in most states. A couple of other small companies followed suit but State Farm is the only really big company that does not waive deductibles in most states. Again, I am not sure about Texas but you can call State Farm and find out very quickly if no one answers that questions here.

And finally, there are a few states that have a zero deductible law for auto glass so whether you have your windshield repaired or replaced your insurance company pays the entire bill with no out of pocket cost to you. Selling a customer on the benefits of windshield repair in those states is a bit more difficult but professionals who operate in those states will tell you that it actually helps get rid of the scammers and puts the focus back on quality and salesmanship. The fact that most insurance companies in most states waive the deductible is only one of many benefits to windshield repair.

I expect screenman to chime in here soon as I know he has never relied on insurance work and can testify to the fact that if you work hard and do a good job what State Farm or any other insurance company does is not going to determine your success. Personally I like insurance work but I never put all my eggs in one basket so my world would not come to an end if I didn't have it.

Hope this helps!

[screenman]

Ding Dong, I am here.

Personally I would like to see the dropping of all glass cover from insurers, that would really open the market up nicely, it is already starting to happen over here.

What we have to remember over here at least only about 1/3 of vehicles on the road have glass cover, it may well be the same over there. I prefer to serve the bigger market as that is where the money is, whilst also giving me more control over my business.

I cannot remember that last time I turneed up to a customer and only did one repair, that is way to expensive for my liking, 3 is the norm, 5 is really nice. 17 was I think my best at one call. Now that was a good mornings work.

[salvatoreali]

State Farm pays for WSR in Texas without any deductible being considered.
I have been dealing with State Farm since 2009 and there has never been an interruption.
Only AAA and Mercury do not offer WSR deductible waiver in Texas, to the best of my knowledge.
I believe in 2010 Farmers Insurance stopped paying for WSR for a short period of time but resumed again quickly.