Insurance Companies

[rockinry]

Hey I look forward to meeting you all~
Hi all. Got a question I hope someone can help me out with...I've heard its really tough to get in with the insurance companies when figuring billing between them and a new buisiness. I've also heard its relatively simple. I've done a little research and it seems to point to the ladder. Anybody provide some insight on what I need to do to register with the insurance companies? Thanks much.

[windshieldwiz]

It is not that difficult to sign up.......but finding one that is inexpensive is...well difficult. Type in insurance on the above
search area and you will find pages of info,,,One thing you will need is general liability insurance in most cases....I use the
cheap version of A.C.T. Good luck

[Frank EU]

Hi rockinri,
To be successful in this business, you do not need to be involved with insurance companies at all.

[Layne]

One might also ponder this. State Farm has been discontinuing "waiving the deductible" in a number of states. Should this continue and other insurance companies follow their lead, what an impact this would be on the PTA's that now seem to disrespect a lot of us. Things are constantly changing....maybe this will end the "steering" game that has become so prevalent with one of the TPAs that is so prominent in the glass business!

[GlassStarz]

Frank is right but also wrong it depends what market you are looking for if you want to do a bunch of retail work having the ability to charge the insurance will help you close more sales if you are going after the fleet and car deakership buisness you can make a excellent living without ever dealing with them. The Car sales buisness is pretty slow right now 10% of dealerships have fallen by the wayside in the last year with another 20% expected soon the ones that are open are doing about 1/2 the buisness they used to so retail looks pretty atractive right now I like ACT when the insurance close is all there is left I use it call ACT and do the repair without a bunch of billing etc.

[rockinry]

Thanks alot for your responses and Frank thats true...however, I am aware that the insurance companies are willing to pay out a whole lot more than what I could charge someone for cash. I know there are other ways of being successful, I'm looking to mix em all up and get it started at every angle. What do I need to do to sign up my company with Insurance companies? Is it as simple as filling out a form??

[Frank EU]

I cannot repeat myself enough times; being Repair Only I just wish that ALL the insurance companies would stop dealing with automotive glass totally.
Not just State Farm. They paved the path for others and that is just fine. Away with all the steering, it is killing the dynamics in the entire auto glass market place. Let the customer decide what to do and where to go; also...who's vehicle is it anyway? I am very confident that the customer will think twice before ordering that all new windshield -at the expense of the insurer >>thus will see a repair only guy first. And that very idea my dear fellow repairers....is the ultimate fear amongst the replacement companies. And I, again, as a repairs only guy, I just don't care. Change is needed for the sake of the customer, the dynamics in the market place in general and more specific for the entire auto glass repair industry. The sooner the better.

[GlassStarz]

I have been doing this for several years and cant think of a job lost to steering
If you are not signed up with them they will tell a customer they only warranty work from thier aprov dealers this isnt steering get on thier list!
If your customer calls without you they may be reffered to one of the companies approved dealers. If you are on the list you will get some of these if not and the customer asks for you to do the repair. They will be told the warranty and if they still want you they get you this isnt steering shame on you for not being on the list
All that said im sure some steering happens that is one of the things I like about ACT I do mostly cold call retail. I tell the customer its no charge to them get the card and put them on the phone with ACT I do the repair while they are on the phone. Result is if they do get a two step they answer he is doing it right now and the ACT person is on the phone and controls the networks person should they try to go in the wrong dirrection with the conversation EASY again I have never knowingly lost a job because of steering. Did some folks not get reffered to me sure my attitude is if I went out and found the job and they took it somewhere else that would be bad if they didnt reffer me thier customer thats not something I can control so why worry about it?
ACT has me listed with all networks so when the customer says my name they get a "Oh he is one of our techs"
Control the situation and you dont lose many salesmanship is all important if you are going to do much retail
Steering exists but it is a term too often used out of context. Telling a customer the proccess isnt steering ,some get mad when it comes up but a prepared person deals with the objection and does the repair I got Allstate to do one today for a customer that wasnt covered I had already done the repair so I told the rep " this guy has his homeowners.buisness and cars with you how bout some good faith" the rep said "you know you are right is $55 ok ?"
Go out and find the work close the sale and move on! Control Control Control
Im sure we will hear a bunch of flack about the devil steering if you control it the damage will be nil.

[GlassStarz]

In the above post it says I do mostly cold call retail it should say most of the retail I do is cold call close but not the same
I do a lot of other things but with the auto buis being the way it is I do a bunch more retail than I used to I have been out a lot with back trouble and being able to go out and coister up a couple hundred bucks in the 4 hr window i may have before the Back acts up again sure is nice
I do most of my cold call at a big gas station the owner lets me sell to his customers at the pumps

[Frank EU]

GlassStarz is right about me being wrong....let's put it this way; I could have express myself more clearly. Of course it depends on the type of customer. We for example hardly do work for private car owners, our business is fleets. We have been doing so for fifteen years. We have a very succesful toll free 800 service number -but I have always disliked ''emergency'' orders. They just frustrate my daily program. Also; I like my freedom and want to travel -which is an easy thing to do when working fleets only. We hardly work for car dealers not here in the EU, nor in the USA. The private car owner jobs we do are limited -at the vehicles owned by the company workers at the customers' location.