Ameriprise Insurance

[StarQuest]

John,

Ameriprise glass claims are handled by Harmon Solutions. Are you registered on their network? If you are, that never should have happened!

What is wrong is the CSR telling the customer they won't cover a replacement if the repaired failed. The windshield is already broke and if the customer chooses they have the right to have it replaced regardless whether it's repaired or not.

[Jerry Martin]

I just lost a job today for a customer who has Ameriprise Insurance. I generally like to be there when the initial call is made, but was not able to this time. The customer phoned her claims number, requested that I perform the service, and was told that the work must be done by NOVUS. They said that if she had the work done by another vendor, that they would not be responsible for a replacement if the repair failed.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has come across this insurance company, and I am thinking that this is a case of "Steering".
Any input appreciated. BTW, this happened in Michigan.
JV

___________________________________________________________
That IS steering away and Safelite will do it also.
You have to be careful about calling in a claim and I always warn a customer to mention they have a repair man with them and they WILL try to steal them away.
In Texas law, a person has the right to get their vehicles repaired anywhere they want.

[J.T.Window]

Harmon's been bery bery good to me. Ameriprise = Costco house brand.

[cazador]

Does GEICO also have their own w/s techs they refer their policyholders to ?

[Onsite]

Michigan does have an anti-steer law in place.I can't qoute which regulation number it is but there is a law.

[Onsite]

Here it is:

Michigan House Bill 4127

[J.T.Window]

Any customer that's interested gets a copy of the CA anti-steering law - California Insurance Code 758.5.
Important parts in BOLD and with the consumer hotline - 1-800-927-4357 - in BOLD on the bottom of the page.
Nobody ever calls in to complain, but at least now they know their rights.

[Brent Deines]

Harmon's been bery bery good to me. Ameriprise = Costco house brand.

I have Ameriprise insurance on my home and cars and they have saved me a ton of money over the past few years since switching from Farmers. I checked with about a dozen other companies that advertise great rates, but no one even came close, so I am quite happy that I made the switch.

As for the steering, I have never had to file a claim so far, so I really can't say one way or another, but we have a number of customers that are signed up with Harmon and receive a fair amount of work from them.

Recently I received a flier with my Ameriprise statement. The flier was promoting windshield repair, which I consider a good thing, so I forwarded a copy of it via e-mail to a number of people within the industry. I knew some would be upset because the flier showed a circle about the size of a quarter and said something like, "if the damage fits inside this circle it is repairable", but over all I thought the industry would be pleased that Ameriprise was promoting windshield repair.

I did get some positive response by personal e-mail, but a couple of competitors took me to task over the issue due to the fact that Harmon was the receiver of the calls made to the phone number on the flier.

It was quite apparent to me that these competitors had not done their homework, so I spoke with someone who has access to the data associated with that campaign and was told that there was a dramatic increase in windshield repair claims that could be directly attributed to the fliers. I was also told that Ameriprise has a much higher than average repair vs replacement ration than most insurance companies, that Harmon directs windshield repair claims to repair only technicians whenever possible, and that the script used to determine if a claim is repairable includes asking if the damage will fit under a dollar bill.

I know that some in this industry believe everyone owes them something, and simply cannot set personal agendas aside long enough to take unbiased look at our industry. To the narrow minded insurance companies are evil, as are networks like Harmon, Safelite, and Lynx, but I don't feel that way at all, and I don't believe that type of thinking will ever help the windshield repair industry. Do we care about making insurance companies and networks profitable? No! Well then, why should they care about making us profitable.

An insurance company's responsibility is to make money for their shareholders. They do this by providing competitive premiums and exceptional service. It is not the insurance companies responsibility to create wealth for windshield repair technicians, and it is not their responsibility to promote windshield repair in any way. However, in this case Ameriprise is saving their customers money, making higher profits for their shareholders, providing a higher level of safety to their customers by promoting windshield repair over replacement, and providing windshield repair technicians with thousands of extra repair jobs. And I am told this is a bad thing for the windshield repair industry!

I believe it is up to me to prove to my customers that there is value in the products and services that I provide, and up to windshield repair technicians to prove to insurance companies and networks that there is value in the services that they provide. Then, and only then, will this industry see a positive change. This is called competition, and it is what being in business is all about.

I am confident that Delta Kits will continue to be successful whether insurance companies and networks are in the picture or not because I know many of you will also be successful either way. But as long as insurance companies and networks are involved in our business, is it not a good thing than they are promoting windshield repair?

I ask this question because I think this forum represents how the majority of the windshield repair industry feels, and often times the views I hear here are far different than what my competitors and others that are shaping this industry seem to believe. I realize the windshield repair forum is largely made up of repair only technicians, but we have our share of glass shops represented here as well, so I am very interested in your opinions.

Is the fact that Ameriprise sends out fliers promoting windshield repair a good thing, or a bad thing?

[Layne]

State Farm also sent out a windshield repair notice several years back. It promoted repair rather than replacement.

[Brent Deines]

And was that good or bad? Are you assuming that Ameriprise is now following State Farm's lead and will next quit waiving deductibles? They might, but I don't think one action has anything to do with the other, except they are both done with the intention of saving money for their shareholders and customers.