Deductible Policy

An article in General Motors "Movin Parts" publication (Aug 1997 Vol 23 No 8) gives a good summary of why the practice of negotiating or burying the deductible is not done at this facility.

Every now and then, a customer with collision insurance might stroll into an auto body repair shop asking to "bury the deductible".

There are a few things you should consider before asking a shop to do this "favor". Keep in mind the following:

• Conspiring to "bury the deductible" is committing fraud upon an insurance company and is against the law in most areas.
• Insurance appraisers know the cost of repairs as well as body shops, and cannot be fooled by inflated estimates.
• If the body shop agrees to "bury the deductible", it has to take shortcuts in making the repairs. As a result, the owner could get a second-rate job, which depreciates the value of hte car at trade-in time and could compromise vehicle safety.
• A body shop willing to cheat an insurance company might be equally willing to cheat the car owner. Since most deductibles today are $500 or more, body shops can't absorb the deductible. The value is taken out of the job, and it is the car owner who still takes the loss.
• If the body shop decides to cut corners on jobs and they end up second rate, vehicle owners have no one to complain to if they conspired to "bury the deductible".
• All parties (the customer, insurer and shop) have an obligation to return a leased or financed vehicle to the condition it was in before the accident.