Consumer Education Is the Key
3/1/2008
The insurance companies aren’t going to change. We need to change the
way we go about dealing with them and stop being our own worst enemy.
By “we” I mean all of us, not just these small, local auto body groups
where you can’t talk about labor rates or steering because most are in
bed with the insurance companies.
The biggest challenge in my mind is customers’ lack of knowledge of the
process to repair their vehicles, from the time the accident happens,
to the time the police arrive, to the tow truck, etc., to the time the
vehicle is delivered back to the customer. Customers don’t understand
the process and are taken advantage of somewhere along the line. This
exploitation is more widespread in the insurance industry than anywhere
else because the policyholders, who pay premiums to their insurance
companies, think that their insurers are looking out for them. But they
don’t understand that these companies are in business to make record
profits at their expense. The bottom line is that the industry isn’t
going to change if we don’t change the customer’s point of view.
Paul Hasbrouck, owner
Athens Auto Collision
Athens, New York