Is this fact? Can we be denied payment if we did not contact Ins.Co. 1st.

The customer was in a pinch and wanted it done. We do glass all the time

without filing the claim until after the work has been completed.

Never been a problem we have a assignment of benefits on our invoice and

receipts to back up our parts purchase.

Can this be won in small claims court?

Your customer is ultimately responsible for the bill, your contract of repair is with the vehicle owner, not the insurer. Extending credit and using an assignment of proceeds is a service you are providing to assist the vehicle owner receive the indemnification purchased by the vehicle owner through his insurance contract.






Who is the Customer?

Our customer is a 80 year old man that we told there would be no out of pocket expense to him. He has cancelled his policy with his Ins. Co. ALLIED
since they played this game with us. We are not going to force our customer to pay. The only thing we were wondering is if we hire a law firm to fight this, is there a chance the ins company can win because they were not notifed
prior to the work being done?

according to the contract between and insurance company and the insured, the company can refuse to make payment if work was done before authorization was issued. Turn things around and ask how you would feel if a company sent you a bill for auto repairs with a letter saying your customer told them to repair the car and send you the bill. You may agree that you are responsible, and you may agree to make payment. But I'll bet you are going to be upset that you did not have a chance to review the damage and debate or negotiate the value. Most insurance contracts are written to allow the insurance company a chance to review damage prior to repair. They may not always do it but the contract does allow it. Just because things go well 98% of the time, do not expect them to go well 100%.

The purpose for pre inspection is to determine that a loss did in fact occur, the extent of the damage and who or what caused the damage. In the auto glass business, this information should be easy to obtain and document. Usually, the loss falls in the "other than collision" category. Digital pictures make it easy to document that a loss did in fact occur, rock from the road is usually the cause, the digital picture should show the extent.

In the policy, under "duties of the insured after a loss" the policyholders have a duty to report the loss in a timely manner, they have a duty to protect the vehicle and its equipment from further damage or loss, and then there is a golden sentence. We (meaning the insurance company) wil pay for reasonable expenses incurred. If a theft is involved, the policyholder must report it to the police, and then the policy will state the requirement to permit inspection of the vehicle prior to repair or disposal. Some policies require pre-inspection and some don't, only to make the vehicle available for inspection.

IMHO since the insurance company is making it the policyholders duty to prevent further damage (mitigate), and since the policy clearly states that the insurance company WILL pay for reasonable expenses incurred for the mitigation, windshield repairs can be made immediately but replacements need to wait for completion of the inspection.

However, there are ways to make the digital pictures available to the insurance company in almost real time, so in our industry all the duties and requirements can easily be accomplished on a same day basis. There is no need for a TPA or an adjuster to leave their desk.

When it comes to windshield repairs as opposed to replacements, it actually makes more sense to do the inspection on a post repair basis because then no crackout will occur while waiting for an inspector and then the inspector can see the results of the repair.

1.) Verify coverage first. 2.) take the pics, 3.) Have the customer irrevocably assign the post loss proceeds for the incident to your shop. 4.) Call in the FNOL, 5.) If an inspection is invoked, ask where you can send the pictures and advise that your shop has an irrevocable assignment and see if you can get the inspection waived. If not and any other shop ends up doing the repair, confirm that with the policyholder and then submit your invoice along with a copy of the IRREVOCABLE post loss assignment. If the insurance company doesn't pay the proceeds to your shop, take them to court.

Call the customer's agent and notify him that you are replacing or repairing his insured' windshield. If he doesn't invoke the right to inspect get the job done. Whether you or your customer contacted the agent, document that the agent was notified.