AASP/NJ Reacts to 2021 Insurer Report Card

2.22.21 – The 2021 Insurer Report Card was recently published by CRASH Network. The report was developed through the participation of more than 1,100 collision repair shops around the country that were asked to grade as many as 30 different insurers in their respective states on one question: “How well does this company’s claim-handling policies, attitude and payment practices ensure quality repairs and customer service for motorists?”

In all, the 2021 Insurer Report Card includes grades for 75 insurance companies.

As shown in the report, none of the nation’s 10 largest auto insurers received an overall grade higher than a C+ from repair facilities. According to CRASH Network’s John Yoswick, comments shared by shops about these insurers included “cares more about cost than quality of the repair,” “pressures us to use cheap, low-quality parts,” “slow claims process” and ‘inexperienced adjusters.” The report also reveals that smaller auto insurers Chubb, Erie Insurance, Michigan Farm Bureau and North Carolina Farm Bureau earned an overall grade of A- or higher.

“After reviewing this report, it’s amazing to me that some of the larger insurers can have ratings that low and still be successful,” Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) President Jerry McNee comments. “Can you imagine if body shops were rated that low by consumers or insurers? There’s no doubt that our businesses would be struggling. That said, I honestly think the ratings could be a lot lower for some of these insurers. These results show that there are major issues between shops and insurers that aren’t being properly addressed. I hope these carriers take the time to review this report and realize they need to make some major improvements in how they work and communicate with the collision repair industry.”

The 2021 Insurer Report Card is available for free download at crashnetwork.com/irc. More information on AASP/NJ is available at aaspnj.org.