re: Insurance companies and contractor law

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If two different licensed contractors tell an insurance company the same thing and the insurance company disagrees and that they are hiring their contractor to attempt a repair the first two contractors say should not be done what are my options?

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Not enough information.

What does your policy say?

The Insurance Company wrote it, lives by it every day 24/7/365, and knows exactly what they are legally obligated to do.

You are probably not an attorney (or you wouldn’t be asking such a vague question and phrase it so poorly). My “advise” to you would be for you to consider consulting an attorney.

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If two different licensed contractors tell an insurance company the same thing and the insurance company disagrees and that they are hiring their contractor to attempt a repair the first two contractors say should not be done what are my options?

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This doesn’t make sense. Insurance companies are good and noble institutions who are victimized by greedy trial lawyers. The insurance company disagrees because those first two contractors are just as shady and evil as trial lawyers. We should pass more tort reform so that evil contractors get put out of business.

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LOL. Auto insurance does this every day. Body shops sign up to be “pro-shops” with insurance companies to get referrals. The body shop signs “agreements” with the insurance company stating they will:

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This is not an auto issue but my understanding is that the policy holder is under no obligation to use the providers preferred vendor

What exactly is the issue? What is it that the insurance company want to repair that the contractor is stating they can't repair?

Also keep in mind, contractors are a business too. They make more money replacing things than they do repairing things.

If every insurance company paid everything that someone wanted paid that is not covered under the policy or that can be repaired rather than replaced, none of us could afford our insurance premiums.

This is the same reason that in Louisiana I pay $400 a month to insure a car that I can insure in Arizona with the same company and coverage for about $125 per month.

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The body shop signs “agreements” with the insurance company stating they will:

Use aftermarket, reconditioned or used parts to repair vehicles

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The body shop agrees to follow the terms of the insurance contract. Most major carriers still use OEM parts for relatively young vehicle's mechanical repairs.

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Comply to burn rates and cycle times regardless of safety

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I dont know what this means.

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Not hold the insurance company liable

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Why would the repair shop hold the insurance company liable? Or do you mean that the repair shop warrants their work for the car owner?

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A lot of folks come down hard on big pharma but insurance is criminal in just the bait and switch tactics that they use. It’s legal and learned mob tactics- pay for protection.

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Insurance is state specific. But in Georgia, no one is required to use a preferred repair facility. There are often perks (preferred treatment such as getting put to the front of the line for an inspection, unlimited rental coverage for the car owner, unlimited towing to the facility for the car owner, and a lifetime warranty for the repairs from the facility).

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LOL. Auto insurance does this every day

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I should’ve specified homeowner insurance companies since thats what OP is talking about.

But even the auto insurance companies don’t hire the shop themselves. Most will provide a list of recommended shops but its ultimately the choice of the claimant on whether to use one of the ones recommended by the insurer or a completely different shop of their choosing. Definitely not like OP having the insurer trying to tell him he has to use the contractor of their choosing despite him having 2 estimates of his own

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Auto insurance does this every day. Body shops sign up to be “pro-shops” with insurance companies to get referrals. The body shop signs “agreements” with the insurance company stating they will:

Use aftermarket, reconditioned or used parts to repair vehicles.

Give discounts on parts or labor costs.

Promise to give that insurance company preferential treatment

Comply to burn rates and cycle times regardless of safety

Disregard OEM repair procedures

Not hold the insurance company liable

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Its your car and you can choose your shop.

Unless your vehicle is very new you had used parts on it at the time of accident.

What difference does the labor rate make to you as long as the job gets done.

You have to sign an agreement to allow them to do the work. Ask questions if you need clarification.

Instead of throwing out the insurance company is a boogie man rhetoric why not take control of your destiny and choose your shop. You pay the same deductible either way.

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he body shop agrees to follow the terms of the insurance contract. Most major carriers still use OEM parts for relatively young vehicle's mechanical repairs.

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and what about the body? Same year as make gets you OEM parts. Some insurance companies say less than two years old. A lot of insurance companies (I’m looking at you Progressive and Allstate) don’t give a frick how new your vehicle is. They’re paying for the cheapest parts and that’s it.

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dont know what this means.

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Cycle times refer to national averages on how long a vehicle can stay in the shop. Most use the national average of 4.0 hours per day per vehicle. Remove and replace on a fender on any given vehicle pays between 2.2 and 2.4 hours (I can’t recall seeing higher than that). That’s low even for a seasoned professional for a new undamaged OEM part. Now take into account that most insurance companies write/pay For used or aftermarket parts, well now it’s got to be test fitted. This means bolting the fender completely on, installing the headlight and bumper to ensure good fitment, uninstalling all of it and then sending it to paint for cut-in (painting the back side). Want to know how many insurance companies pay this extra time when billed for it? Take a guess.

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hy would the repair shop hold the insurance company liable? Or do you mean that the repair shop warrants their work for the car owner?

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Lifetime warranties only came about because of the insurance companies. The problem is they will defer liability to the body shop even though paint manufacturers only warranty their product for (at most) five years. Parts suppliers will warranty the part but not cover the paint or labor if their part fails. No auto manufacturer warranties their vehicles for paint defects or failures past 3 year/36k miles even if you have the “100k bumper to bumper warranty”. Notice all the white vans running around with peeling hoods and roofs?

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surance is state specific. But in Georgia, no one is required to use a preferred repair facility.

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Thats actually a federal law It falls under “steering”. It would be hard for me to imagine that homeowners is exempt from steering laws as well.