AGRR magazine surveyed its readers, asking them a variety of questions about the various insurance companies with which they work.
Subscribers were asked to rate the most prominent insurance companies involved in the auto glass market on a number of factors involved in the working relationships between the AGRR shops and the insurers. The insurance companies included in the survey were: Allstate, Amica, Farmers, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Auto, State Farm and USAA. There was also a category for “Others” so that readers who deal with other, probably more local or regional, insurers could respond for those not named in the list.

Here’s what we found.*

*In some cases figures do not add up to exactly 100% because of rounding numbers up or down.

What percent of your work is with the following companies?

The Big Easy
Survey respondents reported that insurance customers make up 56.7 percent of their auto glass work. The range was from 20 percent to 99 percent.

Asking what percent of work they do for the various companies, the size of the insurance company becomes clear. State Farm and Allstate clearly stand out as companies for which a significant percentage of work is done.

In looking at the overall results, it becomes clear that the two companies are also the leaders in most categories. They rate highest in terms of being easy to work with, as does Other, probably reflecting the close working relationship between these smaller insurers and the AGRR companies.

How easy is the insurance company to work with overall?

How easy is it to work with the insurance company’s third-party administrator?

How easy is it to get approval for a job?

Coming Up Short
The practice of short payment is one of the most contentious issues between the AGRR industry and insurance companies. According to survey responses, it is a significant matter. The average amounts respondents reported they estimated they were short paid are significant numbers.

However, the percent of times that the insurance company short pays is at the low end of the scale. All the insurance companies came in with the majority of short pays at less than 10 percent of the time.

How knowledgeable are the insurance company’s agents?

What is the average amount of short pay?

Survey Respondent Snapshot

How many employees do you have?

1-5	55%
6-10	20%
11-25	4%
More than 25	24%

How many years has your company been in business?

1-5	25%
6-10	12%
11-25	25%
More than 25	37%

How many locations does your company have?

1	62%
2	2%
3-5	8%
More than 5	21%

How many locations does your company have?

Under $100,000	9%
$100,000-$500,000	43%
$500,000-$1 million	22%
Over $1 million	26%

What percent of the time does the insurance company short pay?

How easy is it to resolve an issue with the insurance company?

How do you rate the insurance company’s fair and reasonable payment schedule?

Poor O&As
Another contentious issue between AGRR companies and the insurance industry is the offer and acceptance 
programs. This aspect got the lowest ratings in the survey.

How do you rate the insurance company’s fair and reasonable payment schedule?

What percent of the time does the insurance company short pay?

Overall, how do you rate the fairness of the insurance company?

What percent of the work you do for the insurance company is repair?*

*The survey mailing list included companies that do repair only as well as companies that do both repair and replacement and replacement only.

What is the average number of working days it takes to be paid for work from the day that the work is billed?*

*Figures represent the average percent of respondents who answered for each insurance company, but the total may not add up to 100% because of rounding off (i.e., 8% of Allstate respondents reported 6-10 days).

What percent of your payments is electronic?

AGRR
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No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.