Montana Policy Empowers Shops to Stand Up for Consumers

Handling insurance short-payments can be a difficult job for shop owners. It often involves seemingly endless back-and-forth communication with an insurer that may or may not result in full payment. Auto glass shops in Montana have a more straightforward option. With a customer’s consent, shops in that state can file a short-payment complaint directly with the insurance commissioner’s office.

The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (MCSI) office’s primary goal is to protect consumers. Montana has a unique policy that allows others to advocate on their behalf.

Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance allows anyone to submit a complaint on behalf of a consumer if they sign third-party authorization form. Photo credit: Aerra Carnicom, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If a customer has a concern about how their insurer handled a claim, anyone, including a friend, relative or automotive service shop, can submit a complaint on their behalf.

“[The policy] was put in place as a way for consumers to have someone more knowledgeable about the issue represent their interests,” says MCSI Insurance Consumer Services Bureau Chief Ted Bidon.

Short Payment Concerns

Many complaints in the automotive industry, including the glass segment, involve short payment, he says. If an insurance company short-pays a shop, both the shop and the customer typically are left in a difficult situation.

“Since insurance payments are frequently made to an auto repair shop, [not directly to the insured], the shop can file a complaint on the insured’s behalf if the payment is short,” Bidon says.

According to Bidon, the party filing a complaint must always have the consumer’s permission. A third-party authorization form gives shops or other interested parties permission to file. If something looks “off” about the form, Bidon says the MCSI office follows up with the consumer to ensure they have actually given their consent.

Addressing AOB and TPAs

Bidon hasn’t seen this raise any Assignment of Benefits concerns for the MCSI.

When glassBYTEs/AGRR asked Bidon how third-party administrators (TPAs) fit with this policy, he was not immediately familiar with TPAs’ role in the auto glass industry. After a brief explanation, Bidon said the complaint-filing policy could technically factor in TPAs as part of the insurance process, though he hasn’t seen that happen yet.

“It’s also possible that insurers are keeping us from knowing when they’re using third parties to handle their claims,” he says.

This article is the first in a series covering the insurance commissioners of various states and their relationships with the auto glass industry.