Can someone please explain why Auto Owners is now using Safelite to administer their glass claims but only in Fla and Mn? All other states they remain with Quest?

We use Lynx for Auto Owners in Ohio.

I am in Minnesota. They are just trying to scare. I still bill through Auto Owners and get paid what I want not what safelite says.

They alternate between Lynx and Quest in Wisconsin.

The only thing I can see is that they are trying to reduce, or price break what shops are charging. I used to bill them direct, then several years ago, we negotiated our BOTTOM LINE PRICING. We went through Quest with no problems from the "No problems people". Now since this change we were told to give SGC our bottom line pricing, which we kept the same, for now, and they would pay it. No surprise it has not worked that way.

We are now back on track to direct billing and if they want to make it more difficult it will only cost them more.

Pricing through Lynx has been so horrible and ridiculous that it is a total JOKE. Anyone accepting that garbage should not even be in business and probably won't be for long. I cannot fathom how some can lose so much money and keep their doors open. Unless the only door is on the side of their truck. Like Ben said. Bill direct and bill what you charge not what a network wants to pay. Arbitration here we come! LOVE IT!

Could you call me MNShop? 507-363-6101 or email at aaglassrepair@live.com

Whats funny is i work closely with FSS/Participant services there at lynx, explain to me why a shop getting the w/s for a 2015 focus is paying 30 bucks and cant keep their "truck door" open.? Sounds like someone needs to take a trip back to school, maybe take some accounting classes... How do people who run shops in no fault states expect to get paid 75 bucks an hr when the shop down the road will do it for 40.?

Me:
Please excuse us if we charge a fair and reasonable price so that we can pay our installers a decent wage and feed our families. Sounds like you've been drinking the kool ade. Tell me any otherservice based company that will work for $40 an hour? Rediculous.

Sounds like comments from a large corporation employee, not anyone responsible enough to sign checks. Me, would invite you to walk a mile in the shoes of a shop owner, your perspective would change quickly. Ask yourself why insurance companies have different rates, wouldn't it be logical to assume shops would have different rates, after all insurance is all the same. Unlike insurers we do not have the state making laws requiring drivers to purchase our product.

That has to be within the top 10 most ignorant posts I have ever read here.

WOW me. That is the most stupid statements I have heard in a long time. first off, there are NO w/s that are that cheap. If you know anything about accounting, you would be able to account for not just the cost of glass, but delivery charges, plus refuse charges. so the average w/s costs much much more than you can fathom. Some of us work from a real building and cannot just drive up to a warehouse and p/up some glass. We pay allot more for products of all types than some others do.

As far as school goes, well I have been self employed for over 40 years so I must have learned something about running a profitable business. I don't care what state I would work in, if some dummie down the street wants to work cheap I could care less. I won't. and by the way what ever you are making to provide for your family must be WAY TOO MUCH, WHY? because certain people are coming across the border every day willing to work for 10 bucks an hour so you should too. ME you are way too funny, most likely a joke. enough said.

lol, id murder someone to make 40.00 an hour. im sorry your money management skills arent nearly as good as they need to be, but that's not Lynx, safelites or Quests issue, or fault, why not get licensed in AGRR and cut the middle man out, so you wont have to pay a sub to do it.? sounds like that could possibly double your profit if you are paying a sub to do the work, in other words, it's not the TPAs fault for one we are given a set amount to offer, Lynx has an FSS that works with part shops, and if you are non-part with an insurance company you have the right to ask what you wish for the job, so why not take what we pay you and get the rest for Mr/Mrs. PH.? sounds to me like you have a large amount of anger for TPAs for something we have no control over, trust me if i could offer you 150.00 and hour as a person who understands the struggle of eating on a daily basis i would not have any issue with it at all. but i also dont own or run a TPA or glass shop for that matter. so in short, if you don't like the rates any one TPA offers dont become part, or if you are part speak with the owner of the shop (if it isn't you) and get the part contract pulled. it'll take 5-10 minutes and a signiture from the owner of the shop, it's literally that fast.

Me: You are in another world and WAY out of your league. We are a solid volume shop with no TPA agreements. We direct bill and have for quite some. When our invoices are short paid, we simply litigate. But NOT with the customer as you so haughtily suggest. I can assure you that the insurance companies pay what we bill and it is far more than $40 per hour. We do not use nor acknowledge TPA's for claims process and we file FNOL directly with the insurance company. Research the law. That would be a good starting point if you REALLY want to know what is going on.

Oh....I doubt you will ever have to follow through with your statement about "killing somebody to make $40 an hour"....it is obvious that your skills set will max you out in the $12 to $15 an hour range.

Well said Enlightened. This character doesn't understand simple business. Just because a SHOP charges xxx.xx for labor does not mean this is what anyone earns. Those charges are shop charges to pay people and expenses needed to run the business. Plus does not understand a TPA is not contracting for repairs and has no authority to do so. too funny.

Right on the "money", Right Answer. Seems to me the one(s) posting this kind of rhetoric generally have little or no experience in the real world other than clerical jobs born of repetition. I wonder if Me is aware of the wonderful things it takes to operate in our industry?

**Lease/Rent
**Electric/Utilities
**State and Local Licencing
**Liability Insurance
**Payroll
**Matching Contributions /IRS
**Worker's Comp
**Unemployment Insurance
**Vehicles
**Vehicle Maintenance
**Fuel Costs
**Vehicle Insurance
**Printing/Forms
**Office Supplies
**Office Equipment and Furnishings
**Security System
**Installation Tools
**Consumable Supplies and Sundries
**Legal Costs/Fees
**Marketing Costs
**Accounting Costs
**Lease of Glass Software and EDI Fees

And the want us to cover all of these expenses AND have enough left over to feed our families and function in life? Really, Me? Truly you need to learn a little bit about operating a business before spewing your highly "steered" opinions here.

Take all of the above, add the costs for one month, and divide by the number of units for the month. That is your average cost per invoice. See how that compares to what you charge or what companies want to pay you. Those who fail to do this are part of the problem. If you accept payments that are below your cost of doing business you're making it miserable for the legitimate businesses.

Enlightened, one item missing.

*costs of financing slow paying TPA.

Pretty darn good list. Just add a few other expenses your business has like phones, internet, refuse is a big one too,etc. Being this is a start of a new year it would serve all INDEPENDENT shops to run a quick analyst, using this list, and divide out by average installs per month and it may shock most to find what they are charging or being compensated for, may in fact be way low to maintain any profitability. No better time to see the real picture. Do yourself, and business a real favor and take a good hard look at this. Talk to your accountant, they will most likely agree.

Thanks guys for the additions to the list. Accountant has an awesome suggestion for every shop owner out there. Add all of these expenses up and figure out just how little money you are making taking jobs at the ridiculous rates that are thrown at our skilled industry.

Problem is, the biggest crowd on their (TPA's) bandwagon consists of shop owners who accept these rates.

It's a shame that ME seems to have been gelded, I really wished he would have posted where to buy 2015 Focus windshields for $30. I would have appreciated the chance to buy a few pallets and make as much as a 400% return on the investment, and at wholesale to boot.

Ahh, well, I suppose that statement should have been taken with the same grain of salt as the statement about him believing that the labor charged per hour is the same amount the employee takes home in his paycheck.

Truly, this person has never run a business, only sees the greener grass on the other side, which is where the accountant lives. He's the one that understands the true costs of paying the help, as if it was only their take home wage. lol

Someone asked me this question again today, after reading this string, and I hadn't thought of it in many months. It's a simple question, and a slap in the fiscal and financial face to many, yet few realize the ramifications of their answer, which is usually "no".

"Can say that you bill enough in labor to make payroll, let alone all the benefits that go with that payroll?"

The math on your payroll total must include everyone that deals with the customer, orders and recieves the parts and materials, loads and unloads them into on-site storage or mobile transport, AND FINALLY those that install the glass, be it in shop, or mobile.

In fairness, you may exclude the janitor, for example, but also in fairness, EVERYONE involved in servicing the customer MUST be accounted for in the labor/payroll calculation.

If a business isn't billing enough in labor to make payroll, what cost-shifting occoured to make up for the inadequacies in the "allowed labor amount" that "ME" states "the shop down the street will do it for?

So many believe that everyone except the actual installer is "overhead", or "internal overhead". Everytime I hear it, I just can't stop laughing.

Oh, and BTW, the accountant gets it. Oh yes, he does, indeed.

JMHNLO

**Lease of Glass Software and EDI Fees

Remember when you could stop by the local insurance agency and drop off your bill? Sometimes the agent or office manager would cut you a check on the spot! Remember simply mailing your invoice directly for the cost of a stamp? You can actually still do that!

The cost of administering and settling claims belongs to the insurance company.
TPA's are taking advantage of you by making you submit your invoices via EDI or charging so called "manual processing fees".

Shops that endorse a competitors brand name by joining their network are enabling said competitor to present themselves as omnipresent. That is a cost.

Ah, the good ole days. I miss them. I regularly dropped invoices off and used the opportunity to do pr. Once I had a job called in and I was less than a mile from the customer. I dropped the invoice off at the agency less than an hour later. The agent asked me, " what took you so long?" : ). Agents appreciated good service and sent tons of work our way. And few asked for gratuities. They were genuinely concerned for their insurers.