Repairers are unhappy, frustrated, or just plain angry about what they see as unfair treatment by insurance companies, while other repairers are afraid to express their views for fear of the potentially adverse effect it could have on their own insurance business. It may sound like an all too familiar story to Irish bodyshop operators, but in this instance it is a conflict being played out on the other side of the world.

VACC, the automotive trade body in Victoria, Australia, has called for insurance companies to end what it calls “unethical market practices and to stop treating motorists unfairly.” The move has come after a peak time TV news programme,

Channel Seven’s ‘Today Tonight’, reported that some insurance companies were increasingly diverting motorists away from the repairer of their choice to the insurance company’s preferred repairer. The program also reported, that some insurers were putting pressure on preferred repairers to fix vehicles cheaply, resulting in corners being cut, substandard repairs and unsafe vehicles and offering cash settlements to motorists that do not cover the full cost of repairs.

VACC Executive Director, David Purchase said, “We have had a gutful of the treatment dished out to repairers and motorists by the insurers” Adding “Their actions are denying motorists control and freedom of choice.” He went on to say, “Insurers are unfairly, unreasonably, and increasingly arbitrarily, reducing quotes so low that the repairer cannot repair the vehicle properly. As a consequence, we have poorly repaired, devalued and, potentially, unsafe vehicles out on the roads. It is not as if insurance companies need to screw us to the floor boards in order to survive. They are making enormous profits.”

The VACC has now called on the State Government to bring the insurance companies back into line, demanding legislation that requires a consumer is told about the choice of repairer provisions being offered in a comprehensive car insurance policy. The organisation has also urged all motorists to ask the following question when taking out a policy, ‘Can I choose the repairer I want?’

It all sounds like a nightmare scenario where repairers and insurers are in open conflict and it is ultimately the customer who suffers. The genuine danger is that recent and growing feedback from our own repair market indicates that Ireland could be heading down this road. Let’s hope its not too late to turn back.