car body shop works - insurance jobs

[Tazg1980]

Hi everyone,

Hoping someone can help me. I’m looking into a possible side line business with a couple of friends that do performance car body works. They have a high quality spray booth set up and doing very impressive work at the moment. They have a large unit and could possibly take on 4 more people.

They are looking into taking more staff and doing insurance repairs. From research on Google it looks as though you need a network of repairs and then jobs may come to you. Does any one have experience of this and can explain the process more?

My involvement would be financial as currently the guys do not have the cash flow to wait 2/3 months to get paid for jobs.

Thanks

[simon_harris]

As i understand it you need to be insurance approved to do insurance jobs, this will involve being assessed by whatever body oversees that and you getting put onto a register.

I would expect you need to be an established business in order for that to happen and getting there will take time and money.

Simon

[Simpo Two]

Tazg1980 said:

They are looking into taking more staff and doing insurance repairs...

My involvement would be financial as currently the guys do not have the cash flow to wait 2/3 months to get paid for jobs.

If cashflow is an issue why not do non-insurance jobs? You'll get paid on collection. I'm sure insurance companies take rather longer to pay.

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

walk away.

now.

It is very difficult to get technicians, even harder to get good ones.
Insurance companies pay bottom dollar, and as stated will pay slow
You may have to provide a loan car for the customer, if a job is held up because of parts, that's your loan car out of action.

I'd specialise in non insurance jobs - there are plenty that do so, focusing on restoration projects, race and rally car accident repairs and high end stuff.

[robdcfc]

simon_harris said:

As i understand it you need to be insurance approved to do insurance jobs, this will involve being assessed by whatever body oversees that and you getting put onto a register.

I would expect you need to be an established business in order for that to happen and getting there will take time and money.

Simon

All they do is stipulate how many courtesy cars you have to pay for yourself and then want you to work for £27.50 an hour and give them 10% discount on all parts even though you dont always get that much.

Far better to stay away from insurance unless you go really big in my opinion.

I do a few insurance jobs as a non network repairer for my customers and there are certainly several companies I will never do work for again due to spending longer chasing money etc than what we are getting paid for jobs

[MustangGT]

Dynion Araf Uchaf said:

walk away.

now.

It is very difficult to get technicians, even harder to get good ones.
Insurance companies pay bottom dollar, and as stated will pay slow
You may have to provide a loan car for the customer, if a job is held up because of parts, that's your loan car out of action.

I'd specialise in non insurance jobs - there are plenty that do so, focusing on restoration projects, race and rally car accident repairs and high end stuff.

This.

[Dr Interceptor]

Dynion Araf Uchaf said:

walk away.

now.

It is very difficult to get technicians, even harder to get good ones.
Insurance companies pay bottom dollar, and as stated will pay slow
You may have to provide a loan car for the customer, if a job is held up because of parts, that's your loan car out of action.

I'd specialise in non insurance jobs - there are plenty that do so, focusing on restoration projects, race and rally car accident repairs and high end stuff.

This for me too...

I wouldn't send one of my classics to a bodyshop that does mainly insurance work. I've been there before and your car sits there being ignored while they bang new wings on Fiestas and Fiat 500s.

I have a trusted bodyshop that I use, and they have in essence carried out insurance work for me, but only on the basis that I pay on completion and claim with the 3rd party, which I've never had a problem doing.

[clio007]

Dynion Araf Uchaf said:

walk away.

now.

It is very difficult to get technicians, even harder to get good ones.
Insurance companies pay bottom dollar, and as stated will pay slow
You may have to provide a loan car for the customer, if a job is held up because of parts, that's your loan car out of action.

I'd specialise in non insurance jobs - there are plenty that do so, focusing on restoration projects, race and rally car accident repairs and high end stuff.

Insurance companies pay bottom dollar? Is that why most repair costs 3 times as much as they should then?
There is a reason why most repair costs for a half decent car end up costing just under 60% of the vehicle value

Out of interest, do you own a bodyshop?

[Dr Interceptor]

clio007 said:

Insurance companies pay bottom dollar? Is that why most repair costs 3 times as much as they should then?
There is a reason why most repair costs for a half decent car end up costing just under 60% of the vehicle value

Out of interest, do you own a bodyshop?

‘Approved’ body shops are usually contracted to work at a rate which is much lower than what they would like to charge, but on the flip side the insurer gives them work all year round.