I don't necessarily agree with that. We always made it clear that we were working for whomever was paying for the repairs. It was the customer's job, primarily, to come to terms with the insurance as to what was to be done. With our input of course. So, I felt I had to make the payer happy. Whomever that was and sometimes it was a little of both.

In both insurance and warranty work, I have often been asked to do more than the covering party has agreed to. ALWAYS when put in that situation, I ask for a significant cash deposit from the owner before the additional work would be performed. And who was responsible for what was made clear from the outset. That way, we were not in the middle of a pi$$ing match which I have seen many times.

In the end, in warranty and insurance work, I felt we were working for who was picking up the tab. Customers frequently want extra work done if they think they won't have to pay for it. I didn't mind going to bat for the customer if his requests were reasonable. And have even went to court for customers. But who is paying for what MUST be clear from the outset. And THAT is who I was working for.

Legally, the shop’s obligation is to the vehicle owner. Legally, the vehicle owner is responsible for payment. How you choose to operate is your business, but it has no bearing on the law. Collision Hub has tons of information about this topic, backed up by attorneys familiar with the industry.

Legalese vs the real world.

If you want to take instructions from the person who is NOT actually paying the bills, then all I can say is......good luck with that. All we seek to do is to make sure EVERYONE understands who is responsible for what. From the start. Sometimes that takes a three way conversation to iron out, but is preferable to the alternative.

Personally, after decades in business, we have never been taken to court over this practice. But have testified on our customer's behalf. And only once did it not go the customer's way. So, we do keep the customer's satisfaction in high regard. Just not to the point that we are hung out to dry.

Maybe you could call Collision Hub for help if you do it your way and run into this kind of situation.

GIECO goes from loss to profit

sample quote

Berkshire’s insurance underwriting business generated earnings of $2.4 billion, up from a loss of $1.1 billion during the same quarter last year.
Insurance investment income increased to $2.5 billion,
up from $1.4 billion from the same period a year ago.

Geico, owned by Berkshire and one of the country’s largest insurance companies, reported an underwriting profit of $1.053 billion — a sharp gain from a loss of $759 million during last year’s third quarter.

end quote

But the parent company racked up a big loss, while also building up a huge ready cash pile to possibly buy a company

sample quote

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate saw investment losses of $23.5 billion last quarter, compared to a loss of $10.4 billion a year earlier.

The company’s cash hoard rose to $157.2 billion, up from $147.4 in the second quarter of this year.

end quote

from

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/04/markets/berkshire-hathaway-q3-earnings/index.html

And this is routine when dealing with most all insurance companies. Not difficult for the insurance guy to call it "substandard work" yet it is all the company pays to have done. Substandard parts, and labor rates. Let customers deal with their insurace company and they pay cash.

Wall Street Journal long detailed article Tuesday, Jan 9

“Home, Auto Insurers Jack Up Rates,
Pull Back from Markets”

sample quote

“I have never seen the overall market this bad”
said Barry Gilway,
a 52 year veteran of the industry
who retired in 2023 as head of
Florida Citizens Property Insurance
a state created insurer of last resort
that sells plans to people who can’t get coverage elsewhere.”

That's not exactly new information re: Florida insurance market. It is never going to get any better, either. The only thing that can be done is to try to slow down how fast it's declining.

Its not just in the auto end. Had a roof claim this yr. I had inspected it and knew it would be a full replacement based on age, condition and amount of damage. Add in the shingles were no longer being made.
The estimated roof replacement was 18k. My house isn't large. When I left the insurance industry in 2020 the cost would have been 7.5k. Anyways over the course of the 18 yrs I've been insured with SF I barely paid more than 18k in premiums. Repair cost, materials in auto and homeowners is going to cause some significant increases in premiums.