Vision Collision Debunks Insurance Company Repair Process Myths

Insurance Companies are a good and necessary part of the Collision Repair Industry and Vision Collision Tempe appreciates the service they offer. They protect you in an accident and help you get your vehicle back on the road. However, one area the vehicle owner can often suffer is during the repair process after an accident. Just like any business, the Insurance Company has to watch its bottom line. One way they do this is by making arrangements with local shops to be their authorized provider. The shop gets an influx of referrals and business, and in exchange, gives the insurance company a discounted rate on repairs. This discount is not passed on to the vehicle owner in most cases. This extra cash makes most companies highly motivated to strongly encourage you to use one of these "Authorized Providers." An insurance company may suggest, but may not insist that you use the company of their choosing. Insisting or strong-arming is called "Steering" and it is illegal. In our experience, reminding an agent of this fact will clue them in that they are coming on too strong and they will back off. It is your vehicle, and your decision about who repairs it. You may even choose to not repair it at all. Short of steering, many agents or companies also attempt to convince you that using an independent facility like Vision Collision will mean you lose out on things like warranties and timeliness. We even had one company try to tell a customer in December that if the customer chose the Authorized Provider, they would make sure they got a detail at the end of the repair. An Independent Repair Provider is not beholden to the Insurance Company in the same way. We can work with YOU to find the solutions you need. If there are margins or flexibility in time or budget, the savings is passed on to YOU. An Independent Shop of character will stand behind their work and provide a warranty (and a detail!) on their own accord because it's the right thing to do, not because a company told them to do it. Vision Collision provides a free, lifetime written warranty on all of our repairs. Authorized Repair Facilities can be excellent service providers. But the positions Insurance Companies put them in often create a conflict of interest that does not work to the Vehicle Owner's Favor. We encourage you to shop for an Independent Repair Facility and if you are in the Greater Phoenix Area, we hope you'll give us a call at 602-421-4792 or stop in at 1109 N Sickles Dr in Tempe for your free estimate.