Until recently customers had to source three quotes when wanting to get their vehicle accident claim authorized by insurance. That has now changed.
A customer only has to source one quote from a reputable accident repair specialist because almost all insurance companies now have service level agreements in place with a panel of accepted repairers. These agreements stipulate the rate for replacement parts and labour. Therefore when an Assessor checks the submitted quote, they will check that the correct repairs are being quoted for, that the right parts are being ordered and that the price is as per the service level agreement.
So the great news is that this will save you, the customer, a great deal of running around.
The next challenge you, the customer, may experience is that you are wanting your repairs to be done by an accident repair specialist that is not on the insurer panel. What are your rights to request that your preferred repairer does the work? The good news is that it can be done.
If the repairer is a small, unknown repair branch, your insurer may agree to it, provided that you carry the risk if the job is not done satisfactorily. This is a legitimate risk with lesser known and smaller repairers. This does not mean that all smaller repair shops won’t do a great job but in the event that they don’t, you now have to bear the full cost of further repairs.
If the repairer is a big player with a national footprint, like Ross Champion, you can have complete peace of mind knowing that there is a very small risk of doing a botched job. They are the size they are, and have the reputation that they do for a reason. In the unlikely event that we do ever mess up, we take complete responsibility for further fixes until the client is delighted with the end result.
There you have it. So you only need one quote and yes, you can choose who you want to do your repairs.