Another Insurance Question

[code3wsr]

OH NO NOT ANOTHER &%@* INSURANCE THREAD

Guys I need some help.I have looked all over this board and done searches about insurance through the forum and cant figure this out.

If I sign up with Glasscomp , and do online billing do I still need

1. To be signed up with Lynx and Safelite.

2. A fax machine.

3. $500,000 insurance policy.

I am new to all of this and am trying to get setup with the networks, currently I use A.C.T. but I dont like giving away 14.95 of my money for every job I do.
Thanks for all y'alls help. :eusa_thin

[Sneck]

Hi Code 3 wsr!

I have been doing windshield repair part time since 1994. Most of my customers pay me out of their own pocket. It has been a long time since I have actually done any insurance work, but I use to just mail an invoice to the insurance company. Sometimes they paid within a week or two, and other times it took them a month or two. I can only recall one instance where they did not pay because I was not on their preferred provider list.

I know there is more money in insurance work, and when an insurance job comes up, I'm just going to bill the insurance company like I had done in the past. If I find that they won't pay me because I am not on any network, I guess I'll worry about it then. But for know all my business is residential, and they all seem to want to pay for it out of their own pocket. I think even the people who know they have glass coverage still would rather pay out of their own pocket to avoid a glass claim on their auto-insurance.

Funny,... we all pay the insurance companies money for coverge, and yet when it comes time to file a claim, a lot of people would rather pay out of their pocket even if they know they are covered by their insurance company.

I'll be watching this thread because I would also like to read other peoples posts about their insurance billing situations, (billing direct, or working through a network, etc.)

Sneck

[code3wsr]

Hi Code 3 wsr!
It has been a long time since I have actually done any insurance work, but I use to just mail an invoice to the insurance company. Sometimes they paid within a week or two, and other times it took them a month or two. Sneck

Did you call before you fixed the w/s and get a claim number or something? Or did you just send in your ticket and hope they would pay it?

when an insurance job comes up, I'm just going to bill the insurance company like I had done in the past.

How long has it been since you tried this? Just wondering if it can still be done.

[Sneck]

It has been some years since I have actually done insurance work. I'd say probably 8 years ago was the last time. I never called first because I was only doing work on Saturdays and Sundays, and after work during the week-days. I typically would just get all the information off of the customers insurance card or insurance statement and send them an invoice with my customers signature on it showing that they authorized me to repair their windshield. I think there were a couple of times when the insurance company would mail me some paperwork that needed signed before they paid, but I think that only happened twice.

For the past several years my customers seem to want to pay from their pocket, so I have kinda been out of the loop for several years now when it comes to billing insurance. I suppose now days just sending a bill may not always work. I don't do enough work part-time to justify paying into a service to handle the insurance billing. I seem to have plenty of cash paying customers to keep my business part-time (which is the way I want it) - although I have thought that perhaps someday it would be nice to do repair full-time and give up the 8-5 job, but they treat me right and I can't complain. I'm not rich, but I like my 3-weeks paid vacation, and 1/2 medical and cash bonuses.

I have read through many posts on this forum, and I have gathered that it is pretty much the standard to bill an insurance company at least a little more than a cash paying customer. When I first started out new in this business, charging the insurance company more than a regular customer didn't seem right. I believe now days most insurance companies have a set price structure that they pay, which is typically a fair amount more than most people will pay for a cash repair. The rates that insurance companies pay are still saving them hundreds of dollars per vehicle, and giving us repair techs a nice profit. So I guess charging the insurance company more than a cash customer is generally accepted??? Please correct me if I am wrong. I need to brush up on my insurance billing procedures too.

Thanks,

Sneck

[repare-brise]

Sneck

When I started out I made the mistake of charging an insurance company less than they wanted to pay, what a hassle, now I ask when calling to get autorisation how much they pay, and that' what I bill them. They react as badly to underbilling as they do to overbilling. The way I deal with most private individuals is I ask them to pay me now, hold on to the invoice till renewal time, and if they have had no other claims, submit the invoice with there renewal, subtracting the amount from there payment. This has a few advantages, first I get payed now, second I instruct the customer that if they have no other claims in the year, then a WS repair will not affect there rates, if they have another claim they are better off keeping the invoice and not telling the Ins Co. Since the invoice is dated in the prevois billing year, the claim will be listed as being in the same year. I don't know if this would work in the states but here in Quebec it's not a problem.

Merci

[GlassStarz]

You have a couple options
1. You can continue to use ACT but call the phone number on the back of the customers insurance card for pre approval then call or fax ACT they will do the billing but it only costs $7.95 instead of $ 14.95 (I like this option)
2. Call the same phone # ask them how to submit the bill and do so. Some will require you to work through Lynx or Safelite but if you are with ACT you already are on thier list and can get on as a second location without being a ACT store. IE I am listed with them as Glass Starz #1 for ACT and Glass Starz #5 without, doing it this way you dont have to divorce yourself from ACT and avoid having to submit a bunch of new paperwork

[Dave M]

Code3wsr,

Maybe you should be asking this question instead.

If I sign up with SGC and LYNX should I use Glass Comp for my EDI billing and do I need a fax machine and $500k insurance?

The only reason to use Glass Comp would be if you need to have your invoices sent EDI to one of the networks. It costs $2.25 per invoice.

If you sign on with SGC and/or LYNX, I believe you are required to have a fax machine and a minimum amount of insurance. Make sure you tell the networks that you are windshield repair/mobile only (if that is what you are) because the insurance amount that is required is lower.

[paintlessplus]

Hi Frank - I have set my business up so that I do primarily insurance work, probably over 95% of everything I do goes through the networks via glasscomp.

Heres how it works if you go with the network system.

1. You need a fax machine with a dedicated line so you can receive repair orders from the networks.
2. You need to comply with the membership requirements to be accepted by the networks. One such requirement is the 500K general business liability policy. Cost will vary by area - mine is through RLI at $172.yr.
3. When billing the insurance company through the glass claims network, you need to submit your billing via EDI. This is is streamlined process that basically converts your hand written invoice into electronic gibberish that is routed through the glass claims system. Glasscomp does this after you fax a copy of your customer signed invoice and a copy of the repair authorization (that was faxed to you originally from the network) to them.

The advantage of working within the network system is that you will occaisionally receive referrals. This happens when your phone just rings out of the blue, and a network operator is on the line with a customer requesting a repair. It is a three way call, and if you accept the repair, a repair authorization is then faxed to you, you then make an appointment with the customer to complete the repair.

Another advantage of working within the network system is that it is the preffered system that the insurance companies would like you to use.

The cost for me to work through the network is $2.25 per invoice with glasscomp, and about $1.00 for the long distance fax call through my phone bill....Thus on a $50.00 job I net $46.75.

On some of my past posts I have described why glass networks are in place, what commitments a member has, and what questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to join. Hope this helps. Bob

[Sneck]

Bob,
Do you know what EDI format the insurance companies receive the files in? Is it a PDF file? What If I have the capability of scanning my own invoice and converting it to a PDF file myself and could email it to them? I guess I should probably call them directly to find out, but do you have any thoughts on this???

Is there a way to use the networks without having to have a fax machine on a dedicated line? If they are so interested in electronic format, wouldn't email be more efficient than fax?? Just a thought.

I will go and do some more searching for insurance postings you have made on this forum as it seems you are pretty knowlegable in this area.

Thanks

Sneck

[StarQuest]

Sneck,

The only way to submit EDI invoices electronically is to utilize a EDI service provider and pay a per invoice fee or buy the software. The later is not cheap!

If you don't have the availble resource to hook up a fax machine via phone line at home you can do it through your computer using Efax. Efax.com is the link to set up. It won't be a local number but is sufficient for insurance faxes.