Getting windshield-mounted recalibrations approved and paid for by insurance presents a common frustration for auto glass companies. According to multiple business owners, working with insurers to get properly reimbursed for recalibration jobs takes extra time and effort.
Though almost all cars with windshield-mounted cameras require recalibration post-replacement, that doesn’t mean insurance carriers or their third-party administrators (TPAs) automatically green-light the service. Most insurers require shop owners to get it pre-approved.
This doesn’t make sense to Dylan Muscutt, owner of Premier Glass in New Orleans.
“We all know that recalibration is required, so I don’t understand why we have to ask for approval for a service that should already be included in an installation,” he says.
Windshield-mounted camera recalibration has become standard in the industry. Joshua Cabral of Portland Glass in Lewiston, Maine, is pictured here during the Auto Glass Week™ 2024 Auto Glass Calibration Competition.
It would be like having to ask for insurance approval to use urethane, he says. It’s necessary for the replacement, so it seems odd, he says, to check ahead of time if the insurance company will cover it. Muscutt says he had some insurance companies and TPAs deny recalibration or just not get back to him at all about approval.
Muscutt says it was particularly difficult to have original equipment (OE) parts approved, even if he believes it would make the recalibration more successful. He says he has to install the approved aftermarket windshield, have a recalibration fail, and then repeat the process over again before getting approval to use an OE windshield.
“It wastes a lot of time and money doing that,” Muscutt says. Now he almost exclusively takes jobs where the customer pays him directly.
Patricia Smiley, president of South Carolina-based Quackt Glass, says her shops frequently face the same problem. Smiley’s technicians will know from experience that a certain part causes recalibration problems, but the business still has to try using that part before insurance will approve an OE part.
“We’re not getting paid for the labor of installing glass more than once [per job], so at that point, you have to wonder if it’s even a profitable job,” she says.
Some shop owners try to take on more cash jobs to make up for slower insurance payments.
Sean Fagan has trouble getting timely recalibration approval and payment from insurance companies. The owner of Appalachian Auto Glass in Boone, North Carolina, constantly has to follow up with a customer’s insurance company to make sure he gets paid and the customer doesn’t have to wait any longer.
“Eventually, I get payment, but it takes way more man-hours than it should,” Fagan says.
Sometimes, when the insurance company pays him, he discovers he’s been short-paid. There isn’t much he can do about that, he says.
Jasper Raynor, owner of Raynor Auto Glass in Helena, Alabama, struggles with a similar problem.
“My biggest frustration in dealing with insurance is getting paid,” he says.
To counterbalance the insurance payment issue, Raynor takes as many jobs as possible where the customer is paying him directly. That doesn’t always work out.
“In January, I had a lot of insurance work and not a lot of cash work,” he says. “I’m still waiting on payment for a lot of the insurance jobs.”
Supplementing with direct payment isn’t as much of an option for Smiley. According to the South Carolina Department of Insurance, insurers can’t charge a deductible for “safety glass repairs or replacements” in that state, so customers generally don’t want to pay Quackt Glass directly.
Whether the company is waiting for insurance approval or payment, customers don’t appreciate the extra time the job takes. Both Fagan and Smiley say they make sure to inform the customer why there’s a delay and that they’re doing everything they can to speed the process up.
Delayed approvals can also frustrate customers who have to wait longer to get their windshield replaced.
“One method we’ve tried is to get the customer’s insurance agent to call the insurer [about approval],” Smiley says.
Muscutt and Fagan have both run into approval and payment issues with most insurers, though some are worse than others. Fagan alerts others in the industry about difficult insurers as much as he can. Muscutt grew so frustrated that he took Premier Glass out of all insurance networks.
“No customer wants to wait a week or more [for their car],” he says.
The TPA’s are nobody’s friend. They’re a horrific business partner. I’m routinely put through all of the situations described in this article. I’m very tactful and polite, however that seems to get me nowhere. Many changes are needed in order to better serve the insured.