Reports have circulated the industry that State Farm Insurance will soon change its third-party administrator (TPA) from LYNX Services to Safelite Solutions. While these rumors are not confirmed, many auto glass shop owners and management are concerned about how the potential change would impact them.
And should such a change occur, it is not yet known if it would affect State Farm’s auto glass business or just some of it—and whether those divisions would be along geographical lines, or by how the claim is filed or type of work to be done.
Shop owners throughout the country have long said that LYNX distributes jobs relatively evenly within individual markets. How a change to Safelite Solutions would affect that is unknown.
State Farm Insurance uses LYNX Services as its third-party administrator for auto glass claims. It is unclear if that may soon change.
Glenn Fell is the founder and president of Wyndshyld Auto Glass based in East Cobb, Georgia. State Farm is one of the biggest insurers in his state, Fell says, meaning he works with LYNX for many jobs.
LYNX allows shops to get part approvals through their point-of-sale systems, and shop owners can also help customers file claims electronically. Fell says that, for him, it’s easier than Safelite Solutions’ email-based process. LYNX’s rotation for job assignment is also relatively fair, he says.
“We get multiple State Farm dispatches out of the blue from customers who selected us through the app,” he says.
Fell is concerned this will change if a State Farm switch to Safelite Solutions means a change in the insurer’s job-assignment method. While he routinely receives jobs through LYNX, Fell says he gets “maybe one a year” through Safelite Solutions.
“How would the rotation work [if State Farm switches]?” he asked. Fell’s concerns echo those of others with whom glassBYTES spoke, who seemed most concerned about the algorithm used to assign work when customers do not have a preference. State Farm has traditionally rotated that work among shops.
While Wyndshyld is a State Farm network participant, the business isn’t a network affiliate of Safelite Solutions. If State Farm’s protocols change, Fell fears he will have to do more work to keep them and get their claims even if customers choose his shop directly.
“I’d have to explain how TPAs work and do a three-way call with every State Farm customer,” he says. “Or, I’m going to have to join Safelite Solutions’ network and accept their pricing structure?”
Fell says Wyndshyld’s business model doesn’t rely on insurance work so it still has enough jobs, but shops in other states aren’t so lucky.
“If you count on insurance work, this may cause problems,” he says. “I feel really bad for people running businesses in zero deductible states.”
Patricia Smiley, president of Quackt Glass, is one of those people. Quackt Glass is based in South Carolina, where it is illegal to charge a deductible for “safety glass repairs or replacements.” If Safelite Solutions takes over as State Farm’s TPA function and uses their typical rotation, Smiley says it would hurt the business.
“It would be a huge hit,” she says. “Around 85% of our work is insurance work. It would change who and what we’re doing business with.”
Like Fell, Smiley says she’s concerned a potential switch to Safelite Solutions would complicate the claims process.
“Would we be able to process our own claims electronically?” she says. “What would the waiting period look like?”
Jason Ludke of NW Auto Glass in Forreston, Illinois, has had fewer State Farm jobs for a few months now and “doesn’t expect to see a big difference” in volume if the insurer switches to Safelite Solutions. He’s more concerned about the TPA’s pricing structure and the possibility he’d be required to do any State Farm jobs at the rate Safelite Solutions determines.
Peter Brown is the president of Tiny & Sons Auto Glass in Pembroke, Massachusetts.
“If this switch happens, it’s going to affect the small- to medium-sized businesses the most,” he says. Because State Farm’s current rotation distributes jobs equitably, according to Brown, all business sizes have a fair shot. If Safelite Solutions becomes State Farm’s TPA and job distribution is based off its typical process, Brown says that could hurt smaller independent shops the most.
Brown encourages shops not to rely on insurance work and to engage in more self-promotion. Brown is also the vice president of the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC). He says that it’s AGSC’s goal to help educate members on how to promote themselves to customers.
“If independents want to compete … we have to keep up with technology and certifications so we can convince customers that we’re just as qualified and capable as the largest company, but we’re also part of their community,” he says.
Neither State Farm nor LYNX have yet responded to glassBYTEs/AGRR’s request for a comment.
Anti Trust time.
The bigger they are, the easier they are to out-hustle. Bring it on.
If this happens or will finally be time to file the class action suit against safelite. I lost a million dollars a year in business when Allstate left.
This would be another questionable business deal that SGC is involved with as a monopoly. What happened to the neutral TPAs (third party administrators) and the insurance companies that handled claims in house. If SF wants to help bolster its books why not bring it back in house the claims administration. SGC gets these deals because it under bids portions of the claim and is able to work the whole claim for profitability, (Dispatch, Authorizations, Wholesaling of Parts, Installation, and Payment Reconciliation). This is why insurance carriers go with them for the claims administration because from a glance it looks like it saves millions of dollars on claim administration, while the big bully gets to beat up the little kids in the park. At no point in my opinion should a TPA have a vested interest in whom gets the claim as they are here only to be a THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR.. Not the Third Party Dictatorship. SF took on a lot of high-risk policies and it has bit them hard, and they are only trying to stop the bleed by becoming a worse carrier for their consumers and vendor relationships. I would be curious to see what the true costs are per glass claim are and how they are spread throughout the claim. I mean Driven Brands has become a TPA and then there also is Gerber. I mean look at how difficult it is to get ahold of ShopIdontcare for authorizations or in regard to short pays.
I have spent 2 days working short pays from SGC, , the reasons they give for short pay are total B/S and contradict their own guidelines. Im So sick
It should be illegal. With all the other major insurance companies already under Safelite’s program after State Farm there would be nothing left. When Travelers switched over years back it took almost half my business. You can’t be an TPA and run a business under the same type of business.
And Lynx and State Farm are probably under an NDA with SGC at this point in time to not allow another TPA to bid out SGC. Honestly, that is my biggest problem with SGC is that they can be the largest installer but should not be able to administrate and govern an industry by there own accord.
I have not heard one shop say anything about Safe lite being in auto glass installation and manufacturing. There’s not going to be a rotation. How long have you been in business? They keep the work for them selves. They delay coverage verification and with some insurance companies they demand inspection of the vehicle making it inconvenient for the insured. In an attempt to get the job.
This would be another questionable business deal that SGC is involved with as a monopoly. What happened to the neutral TPAs (third party administrators) and the insurance companies that handled claims in house. If SF wants to help bolster its books why not bring it back in house the claims administration. SGC gets these deals because it under bids portions of the claim and is able to work the whole claim for profitability, (Dispatch, Authorizations, Wholesaling of Parts, Installation, and Payment Reconciliation). This is why insurance carriers go with them for the claims administration because from a glance it looks like it saves millions of dollars on claim administration, while the big bully gets to beat up the little kids in the park. At no point in my opinion should a TPA have a vested interest in whom gets the claim as they are here only to be a THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR.. Not the Third Party Dictatorship. SF took on a lot of high-risk policies and it has bit them hard, and they are only trying to stop the bleed by becoming a worse carrier for their consumers and vendor relationships. I would be curious to see what the true costs are per glass claim are and how they are spread throughout the claim. I mean Driven Brands has become a TPA and then there also is Gerber. I mean look at how difficult it is to get ahold of ShopIdontcare for authorizations or in regard to short pays.
if true, something needs to be done. I have invoices that have been accepted 9 months ago that have still not been paid by Safelite Solutions. They don’t have a phone number for vendors to have questions answered. We are forced to use an email system that isn’t any quicker than regular mail and the answer are rarely helpful. The headaches that will happen from having to interact with Safelite Solutions more frequently now is really what I am worried about as a shop owner. It is a system designed to screw over any other shop other than Safelite. No reasonable person could look at how they operate and think that it should be allowed.
State Farm agents have communication from Corporate that says they are switching to Safelite Solutions on 7/1/2025. It is a done deal.
Probably have to take action on billing SF claims direct and by pass the network. Could be difficult but SGC has a claims app that is rather easy to navigate the app also manipulates customers to use SGC shops. Lets hope that this isn’t true
Lynx is a much better company to deal with, they pay what is invoiced and if they don’t they explain why. Safelite almost never pays what is invoiced without explaining why and to get that answer or payment could take weeks to never. This shop has invoices out back as far as 3 years that have been short paid. Impossible to talk with someone on the phone. Like other comments they only want customers to go to Safelite shop and we don’t have one in our city which means customers need to travel to Medford, OR to auto glass repaired or replaced. Lynx much better 3rd party as far as we are concerned.