Leveling the glass playing field: independent glass installers take aim at third party claims administrators.(NEWS ANALYSIS)

Consider the fallout if body shops worked in the following environment:

A nationwide repairer with hundreds of outlets along with a repair network it oversees handles claims administration for over 100 insurers. When policyholders call in a claim, their calls go directly to this repairer who can then recommend its own shops for the work. In the event a policyholder requests a non-network shop, a claims representative for this repairer warns the policyholder that he or she may be stuck with out-of-pocket fees and might not receive service equal to that offered by its network. As a result of this setup, this repairer and its network receive considerable business while independent repairers close their doors as business dries up. In this situation, would shops cry foul?

Independent glass repairers say this is exactly the situation they face, and they don't like it. Led by the trade groups such as the Independent Glass Association (IGA), a Harmont, Ill.,-based organization with over 1,600 member shops, independents have produced a litany of unfair trade practice accusations at repairer/claims administrator Belron US Inc. (which recently merged with Safelite). Independents are taking their case to courts and state legislatures in what some see as possibly their last chance to save their sinking businesses.

A question of language

IGA members, along with other independents, accuse Belron of a number of wrongdoings, most notably misrepresentation and steering, which they link to the scripts Belron claims reps read when policyholders report a claim. Belron has agreements with approximately 140 insurers to handle glass claims. This involves taking claim calls made by policyholders, handling invoices and making payments to repairers. Independents say their problems with Belron begin the moment a policyholder calls and receives one of the following greetings from a Belron claim rep: "Thank you for calling the [insurance company name] glass program" or "Thank you for calling the [insurance company name] glass program with services provided by Safelite."

Independents say both greetings give callers the impression they're dealing directly with their insurance companies, when in fact they're not. Because policyholders believe they're dealing directly with the insurer, independents say policyholders allow claims reps to practice undo influence on them.

"Making this even worse," says Rick Rosar, an IGA board member and owner of Rapid Repair in Coon Rapids, Minn., "A lot of times the policyholder is calling a 1-800 number printed on their insurance cards that simply states, 'For glass claims call 1-800 ....'"

Following this greeting, the claims rep asks the policyholder if he or she prefers a particular repairer. If not, the rep suggests nearby Belron network shops. If the policyholder requests a repairer outside the network, the claims rep reads from a script similar to the following: …