Hey everyone,
When I first got started in the biz 18 years ago I used to direct bill the insurance companies. There was no network back then, then when the networks came around I said ok I will play, and I would send my bills in to the insurance networks. It even was a bonus for me because I got paid much faster and I could tell the customer I was on the preffered list. I would make the call get the refferal number and I used it as a selling tool. However as most people know I stopped doing insurance work about 6 years ago. I have been thinking of doing insurance work again and I am wondering if any of you out there do direct billing to the insurance company. NOT THE NETWORK!!!
I have heard of people in the past doing insurance work and sending the bill to the insurance with a letter saying not to foward the bill to the network. Their point in the letter being that Safelite is a direct competator to them and it is private information that they do not authorize to be shared with their competators. I have also heard in the past that they can charge a little more in some cases. So again my question for anyone out there can you do this? I don't see why you can't. Yea it may take you longer to get paid but look at how bad safelite has gotten with snatching jobs away. Sure they want it all for themselves.
Also another case in point is safelite uses the information from the jobs too both control the price of the market but also they use this information against us whenever they go to say who can be on the list and who can't. Why do you think they have all these anti-trust lawsuits against them. I am amazed they are still able to win these, they must have some great attorney's. Regular auto body shops don't use the networks when they replace of glass in a wrecked car, they use an ajuster. So what say you all.
David Coit
Coitster
Also one other thing I forgot to mention is that when you used to be on the list there was a rotation schedule. For example if someone called in and they didn't know who they wanted they would rotate the shops and I would get a call everyone once in a while with a job provided to me by the network. When I stopped using the networks I was getting no calls. Safelite or Lynx (PPG ProStars) at the time would take 100% of the work. The only work I would ever get from them was when I had the customer in the first place and I was there with the customer making the call. Now I know there are some of you guys who get refferal calls right now but only in area's that Safelite is not in. I have a friend who used to work at Safelite and people at their facilities would laugh about they wanted all the biz. Well I don't find it funny, I am really not even interested in their scraps. I am willing to go out and get all of my own work, I don't need the network. I wish the network didn't even exist. Ok I will get off my soap box.
David Coit
Coitster
Hey Coitster, one thing I'd like to add about the rotation. I use to get 4 - 5 jobs a month from the networks , then about 2 years ago I got a Form (fax) from lynx saying I could give them a "vendor preferred price", I didn't fill them out . My last network job was 2 months . although they do call on Sat. & Sun.( I don't answer when I see it's them) So , I guess those preferred price vendors don't work on weekends.I am set-up with- sf,hsg and lynx
I know this won't apply to you since you go out there and get your customers, just a note for the people waiting on the phone to ring , you might want to lower your price
I do the majority of my work on weekends and about 60% of my customers want to file through their insurance company. Like you, Coitster, I'd rather not have to work with the networks but on weekends it's difficult to contact the insurance companies for approval. In most cases, I have to wait until Monday to contact an adjuster, etc. So, for customer convenience (and faster approval) I use the networks. Having said that, I have had some success in having the customer pay cash and then have them submit my invoice to their agent/insurance company.
Oh, I rarely get referrals from either Safelite or LYNX unless the customer requests me.
I have found that direct billing is a lot easier if you have the agent's help. The first step is to get to know all of your local agents. You need to show them that you can take better care of their customers than the network providers can and save them money by not doing as many replacments. The national insurance co.'s are harder to deal with. I let my State Farm O&A contract expire Nov. 1 and I have a few agents that are willing to try direct billing for me, but not sure how well that will work out yet. The regional insurance co.'s are much easier to deal with, so I concentrate on independant agents. They will either send the invoice for me or get me a fax number directly to the ins. co. claim dept. If the agent can get permission from the ins. co. for you to send inv.'s directly to claims, that works best. the ones I have set up that way pay as soon as they recieve the inv. and mail a check to me in about 3 days. No hassle with pricing, I charge my regular retail price with sales tax or if they have a better price set by a network I will use that price.
