Deductable Savings

Why We Don't "Save", "Bury", or "Hide" Deductibles and Why That Should Be Important to You.

Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurer. In order to collect under that policy, it requires that you do certain things, including paying the first $250 (or whatever your deductible is) of the loss.

If we absorb your deductible, we could be placing you in a position of committing fraud against your insurer, we will not do this to you, and we will not cheat you or your insurer, period. We would be concerned about doing business with someone who thinks its okay to help us commit fraud against and insurance company. If a business is willing to cheat an insurer, couldn't they just as likely be willing to cheat you? Understand that unlike the good old days when the practice of saving deductible was common, things are much different today. Most shops work off of very low margins of about 5-15% on any given repair, and that's if everything goes right and insurance company doesn't short pay them. Most shops operate at the low end on the margin scale, so there is simply not extra money paid on a claim that a shop can choose to give away. Most insurance companies don't pay for all the necessary procedures required to bring a vehicle back to pre-accident condition as it is, and the repair shop usually eats the difference, which cuts into the overall margins.

Based on our decades of experience in this industry, the only way a shop these days can find a way to bury today's high deductibles (which are often 25 or 50 percent of the entire repair cost) and still make money is to try and inflate prices to the insurer or to cut corners on the repair. Those aren't practices we are willing to collude with any vehicle-owner to do.

If you choose to work with a shop that conspires to "bury" the deductible, it may leave you few options if you end up being unhappy with the work or service you receive. Your insurer or any agency you turn to for assistance may be apt to tell you "you got what you paid for" if you end up with a substandard repair by saving your deductible.

We have seen many cars “butchered” by shops saving deductibles or giving “free rental cars”. As we have looked at these cars and begin to ask questions, we usually find out that the repair shop “saved” their deductible. There is very little that can be done in situations like these, and it happens everyday. There are repair shops that advertise “deductible savings” and one should beware, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”. If a repair shop would put a little bit of money towards training and provide quality repairs they wouldn't have to keep relying on the practice of “saving deductibles” in order to get work.

It's our job to assist you in protecting your investment by choosing a first-class repairer for a first-class repair. If you are clearly unable or unwilling to pay your deductible, there may be options for you. If there are some aspects of the repair you decide you don't want to have done – and we can forego doing that without compromising the safety of the vehicle or the terms of your insurance contract – that's an option we can discuss with you. Understand that our reputation is also on the line. Someone that knows your vehicle was damaged and then asks who repaired it, we want you to be able to say Auto Collision Works proudly and we simply don't want our name attached to any type of substandard repairs. If you want a complete repair backed up by our warranty, paying the deductible is required.

If you have any questions to the above information, please contact us, we would be more than happy to assist you.

Other Pages of Interest

It's Your Car, It's Your Choice

Direct Repair Shops

What Insurance Companies Don't Tell You.

If you want to know more about us check out the "Our Business" page and then look at the various certifications that we have. You can then look at "Our Mission" and "Our Ethics" pages for more info. Then check out what our past customers have had to say about us on our testimonials page, you will find that if you live in our general area we will be the best choice for you and we will provide you with the highest level of service.

Give us a call today, or better yet come on by, we would love to hear from you.

Auto Collision Works | 1205 Borgfeld Rd | Schertz, TX | 78154
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