The IBC has responded by rejecting any accusations of having a “steering” policy.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has found itself in the insurance news spotlight, as it faces criticism suggesting that insurers are steering their policyholders toward certain specific body shops in order to be able to have their vehicles repaired following a collision.
Those accusations are being outright dismissed by the IBC, saying that they are untrue.
The IBC’s vice president, Atlantic, Amanda Dean released an insurance news statement that said that insurers do not have “steering” policies that would force a customer to choose only specific body shops. At the same time, concern has risen from some body shop owners, that have said that they have been losing business as customers go elsewhere to shops that are “preferred” by their insurance companies.
This insurance news has placed the spotlight on a very important form of wording in the industry.
According to Amanda Dean, the “preferred” shop system is not a method used by the auto insurance industry to ensure that consumers are going directly to specific body shops. Instead, the preference designation is merely granted to a shop that has met certain IBC standards, giving consumers a bit of added confidence when they need to make a choice regarding where they should have their repairs completed.
Dean explained that “The benefit for the insurance company is that they know and trust the workmanship within that shop.” This system is in place, said Dean, as a form of guarantee that the shop that has been deemed “preferred” has undergone inspection and testing so that consumers can know that they will have a good chance of receiving high quality repairs when choosing that shop.
She also went on to clarify that regardless of “preferred” designation, consumers are able to go wherever they want in order to have the repairs completed. This makes accusations of “steering” policies untrue.
However, body shop owners are not satisfied with this insurance news statement. They feel that by creating the preferred lists, in the first place, it means that customers are being directed toward those shops, as the work of those shops will be guaranteed, while quality work from another shop will not be.
