Brian, please hyperlink this .pdf for me. Thx.

Court of Appeals Division II
State of Washington
Opinion Information Sheet
Docket Number: 32609-4-II
Title of Case: Cascade Auto Glass, Appellant v. Farmers
Insurance Group etal, Respondents
File Date: 07/05/2006


http://www.farmersinsurancegroupsucks.com/pdf/cascade_auto_glass_v_farmers_insurance_group.pdf#search=%22farmers%20and%20glass%20service%22

Cascade Auto Glass V Farmers Insurance Group

the bad thing about cascade is they waive deductibles which to me they lose a little credibility on what they are owed. if they can waive deductibles they shouldn't complain about what the insurance pays.

bqa,
You are so full of it, why would waiving a ded lose their credibility? Are you happy with what Farmers pays you? Waiving the deductible has nothing to do with reimbursement rates. At least Cascade has the tenacity to go after them. Get a clue!!!

Cascade operates in at least one state that has laws against paying, waiving, or rebating deductibles. That DOES say something about credibility doesn't it?

I would actually hope so, we too operate in a state where you are not allowed to waive, pay or otherwise use insured's deductible as incentive to get the job. BUT there is one company out of the largest city in the state that advertises on TV constantly about getting your "FREE WINDSHIELD" "if you have 50 or 100 deductible your w/s is FREE". Now that is the jest of their ad, however in small print at bottom of screen are the words *some restrictions apply* or something similar. Those ads make it difficult everytime I attempt to explain to a customer why we can't waive their deductible

TM
if they aren't making enough off the reimbursements then why are they waiving deductibles? it seems to me that they must be jacking up their prices to make up for the loss of the deductible. which in that case they do lose their credibility. another thing they do in states that it illegal to waive deductibles they do advertising contracts with the customer, they put a little sticker in the widshield and pay the customer $100 to keep it there for a year.

another thing about cascade is that they are closing stores all over the country and going to independant contractors, in most cases paying the around $50-$60 per install. who can pay insurance, gas, glue and for a vehicle for that? and do a respectable job

Cascade was also the biggest telemarketing operation, they were trolling for business in just about every market and subbing the work out. The no call lists really hurt their business.

Many in this industry especially bqa are the main problem in this industry. Waiving deductibles have nothing to do with credibility or the success of a law suit. At least Cascade has the guts to go after and fight for fair pricing. You guys want to rip Cascade because of their marketing. Wake up at least they are marketing and not like many in this industry that don't have any type of business background. I would suspect that those that are complaining are techs that are running "one man shows" waiting for the networks to feed you. I would suspect bqa you are one them and if so your days are numbered waiting for the free handouts. Get creative and stop bashing those like Cascade that are helping the industry with pricing.

TM
do you work for cascade? i don't wait for handouts from anyone, i am a one man shop and i do maybe 10 insurance jobs per month, all from repeat customers. i have never once complained about insurance payments or that i don't make enough money. i generally run about 60% net profit per job i would like to see your books to see if you and your great business knowledge run with that much profit, and when i say net that means what i put in my pocket after all expenses. i have seen cascades profits when i worked for them, they ran pretty low.

i wonder if farmers let the court know that cascade is waiving deductibles? if i was farmers i would. and why is it that after being in business for what, about 12 years, that the only way cascade can get customers is by paying them to use them?

TM - I agree that Cascade is only doing what we all should by fighting for better pricing and the right to determine our own pricing, not that dictated to us by the insurance industry.

However, Cascade has made it more difficult in some states by their pricing and "illegal" marketing tactics. When you are able to "cover a deductible" in the eyes of the courts, then you must be "charging to much" in their eyes.

They have also lost a similiar case in Idaho if memory serves me right, that now allows Idaho Farm Bureau to "dictate" pricing there in Idaho.

I was only able to find the following link which addresses the Appeal.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/idahostatecases/sc/1056/cascade.pdf

One important thing to note is that the law ONLY allows the insurance company to pay what it determines "prevailing competitive price" based on what a "substantial number of repair facilities" charge near the area the insured's vehicle was repaired.

They were seeking 1,700 shortpays for over $257,000, which is avg. $151 per. At this time, 2005, Cascade was offering "up to $250 back".

TM- This is how they hurt their credibility and fueled the "partnership" between Idaho Farm Bureau and Safelite. Safelite promotes, tells, and provides reports to agents showing exactly how much money Safelite saves them vs. "the other guys" agents have told us. The reports show Safelite vs. "network shops" vs. independants shops, and just how much the agent would have saved by having all his policyholders use Safelite.

I would argue that any glass company, as long as they do not pass on the amount refunded to the insurance company, should be able to REBATE any amount they wish to THEIR customer, it is your profits afterall and you should be able to spend that however you see fit. However, we all know this is NOT how it usually works out. In most cases a glass company MUST recover this "rebate" somehow. I will let you determine how a company might do this. But it is interesting that Cascade was seeking an avg shortpay of $150.00. I wonder what the avg. rebate they offered was?

The ironic thing is, in a state (Idaho) with laws against rebating, to date I do not believe hey have ever been fined for rebating to policyholders. you would think that this court case would have tipped off someone, or at least alerted Idaho Farm Bureau to what was most likely happening.

just out of curiousity, how do you feel about insurance companies waiving deductibles for pit repair?

i agree, i don't like companies that waive deductibles, the one company that did it here, was caught charging for a tempered piece and a w/s,,,that was how they ate the deductible. The only thing that caught them was when the insurance company threatened to drop the insured, that was when the insured looked into what had been billed on his fleet of plumbing vans.

The only reason insurance companies started waiving deductibles for repairs is to offset the high cost of replacements by incenting the insureds to go that route.

This pumped some huge changes in the AGR business as SL, LYNX, and the other TPAs scrambled to get repair ratios up to the targets that the carriers established.

The mantra became "cost per claim" which evolved into "guaranteed cost per claim" and the steering required to meet the numbers.

Then the carriers stopped waiving deductibles for repairs once the deductibles got to $250 or better and the AGR industry was left to pick up the pieces.