Car Repair Insurance

There is often some confusion when it comes to car repair insurance.

Many drivers feel that in the event of any damage being made to their vehicle, they must then send it to their insurers’ choice of repair centre.

This understanding comes from the fact that insurers often state that it is they who should advise where the repair should take place. However, the reality is that you as the owner of the vehicle have the right to decide where and when any repair work is undertaken. And following this, your insurance company is legally required to pay out for all reasonable costs of the repair.

The reason many insurance companies advise the use of certain repair centres, while at the same time advising against others is, unsurprisingly, financially motivated. More often than not insurance companies have an affiliation to a select number of centres who then reward them for their recommendation. Therefore, the insurance company has their own motivation for directing their customers to these centres and advising on where the repair should take place. Whilst they can and will advise, it is illegal for them to forcefully do so and/or pressure drivers into selecting their preferred repairer.

All manner of tactics have been known to have been used by insurance companies to entice their customers to these affiliated repair centres. One of the most common strategies is that they will tell their customers certain guarantees could become void or that they will experience a decrease in the quality of the actual repair, if an ‘authorised’ centre is not chosen. Of course it is these ‘authorised’ centres with whom the insurance companies have an affiliation and with whom they have their own financial incentives setup with.

In summary, in the event of a repair being needed, a vehicle owner is not required by law to send the vehicle to a repair centre stipulated by their insurance company. The only time where this would be required is if the driver was informed of such terms and conditions when they first signed up to the insurers’ policy.

ChipsAway Carcare Stockport is able to undertake the car repair insurance on your vehicle. After sending the quote to your insurance company, they are then legally required to pay for the work to be completed. The only time this would not be the case is if they were to deem the costs to be excessive; at which point both parties would need to clarify the specifics of each repair and what exactly the cost is going to cover. More often than not a solution is found between the two parties.