PSA -Rental Car Coverage

INSUREGEEK

Super Genius
100+ Post Club
232
Ohio
I'm sure I've said this before, but it bears repeating.....

MAX out your rental car coverage, please!

Don't think that because your client has easy access to another car right now, that she'll have access to it when hers gets wrecked and is not driveable. I promise you - she won't. And at the very least, she'll forget about adding Rental Car coverage when circumstances change. Make it part of your basic proposal.

IF you have customers with a high-end car, know that a 2 day repair can easily turn into 2 weeks if additional parts are needed. BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover.....they don't stock so many parts in the US. And what they do have, is likely in a warehouse 3000 miles away. They order parts and ship them when they feel like it for the most part. At least that's my experience. There's a 2012 Range Rover on my lot since 10/22 and we STILL don't have everything we need to fix it properly. Her rental runs out tomorrow and we're a week away from finishing assuming that last little plastic widget arrives tomorrow.

Side note: Don't place these customers with carriers that make a habit of using aftermarket parts. Those OEM's do not price-match because they don't have to. Playing the "try it first" game just adds more time to the repair. Better yet - sell them with a carrier that offers an OEM parts endorsement.

Happy selling!! And thank you, on behalf of body shops everywhere.
 
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I was going to post this again today, then I realized I've said it a few times already. My most recent case:

Guy drops his car at the body shop on 12/7 because a headlight is busted. OK, got it, NOT legal here in OH, but I warn him, loudly, that his $20/day = $600 max rental car coverage will run out before I get his insurance authorization and all the parts I need to fix his car.

Guess what? It's now 2 weeks since he dropped the car and I STILL don't have parts. It's likely been 3 weeks since the wreck and I suppose he has plans for the holidays that require transportation.

I posted this as a PSA because when your customer gets billed for his rental car and gets peeved at ME - I'm not taking a loss on this job. I didn't sell the insurance. I just fix wrecked cars as quickly as I can. If I know you I'm calling you to explain.

I know it's not entirely your fault. You've been so far removed from the claims process and have so little interaction when a claim happens......it's really sad.

Please brush up on this, and all the extra fees (supplemental insurance + taxes that are not covered) so as to properly advise your clients :)

If you have a customer with a giant pickup truck chances are he's using that for work and a replacement vehicle is at least $100/day here.

And for the love of all that is sacred, STOP selling $1000 deductibles.

And for the love of all that is holy, DO NOT sell a policy without OTC/Comprehensive coverage.

Thank you......Merry Christmas.....and God Bless!!

ETA: If I see another 1996 model car for an estimate. I am gonna puke. Who even allows collision coverage on 20 year old vehicle? The current one told me I was going to hurt his resale value if I couldn't match the aftermarket stripe down the bed?!? I wonder how much he's paid for that coverage on a car that's worth maybe $1000 on a good day? Good for you if you can get it, but you'd better ask for the Total Loss team when the claim comes in.
 
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For deductibles, everyone wants the lower premium so they like the $1000 deductible.

My question always is: If you crashed your car tomorrow and had to pay the deductible, could you come up with $1000 without it affecting your grocery budget for the week?

Usually the answer is no. Then we would talk about paying a bit extra monthly to avoid that very scenario. At that point, it is their choice.

Ironically, I always push them up on their home owners deductible. You rarely have to come up with that 'right away' and it just doesn't happen as often. We discuss trying to put away the money the save in premium to offset the deductible difference. Okay, nobody does this part, but it makes for a good conversation :)

Dan
 
I've heard it said before but never realized how true it is: 2 flat tires = major financial catastrophe.

I don't have as much in savings as I'd like, but I've never had a credit card and won't need one for your average "emergency" most people aren't financially equipped for it.

The only people who ever ask for or consider 1000 dollar deductible for auto are nonstandard through and through. They don't have the cash either, of course.

I've spent years advising people not to purchase a warranty for their car -just set the money aside you would be paying towards the premium, and that way if nothing breaks, you still have your money. Makes sense, right???

Well, nobody actually saves the money. So I'm trying to add the month to month warranty from NSD to my offerings now. :/
 
Why no $1000 deductibles? Here's my thoughts, some of which have already been mentioned:

Customer rarely has that kind of cash/credit readily available. If they do, it's because they planned to use it for something else. No one plans to be in a car accident.

Customer flips out when I can't "help" them with it - ie, take payments or take shortcuts on the repair

Customer has no clue that the rental car will likely end up costing them something too - see above

Customers that owe too much on their cars will take a hit on a total loss because their not-enough-to-pay-it-off check gets cut by $1000 - now they don't have a car or any down payment/way to buy another one.

Customers with OTC/Comp claims get really really frustrated for a whole host of reasons - a lot of those claims tend to be less than $1000 and the insured is stuck with the entire repair bill



Here's a strange case from earlier this summer: A woman calls me because she got a seat belt ticket. Her belt is broken and she wants it fixed. She brings the car in and it's clearly been wrecked for a while. I check the seat belt and see that there was airbag deployment too.....she simply cut the bags and still drives the car. Why is the seat belt stuck? Because she wasn't wearing it when she wrecked the car either. Seat belt retractors lock when airbags deploy. My hands are tied - I won't touch a restraint system unless I fix ALL of it. And, you guessed it, she never came up with the $1000 she needed to get it fixed and she's already spent the insurance check.

At least always offer a $500 option and do as Dan suggested, break the premium difference down in to some sort of comparison or timeline. I'm not doubling my out of pocket to save $20/month.
 
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