Claims administrator Safelite Solutions announced a change in processing logo’d parts, effective Friday, May 1.
The Notification
According to a document sent to in-network shops on April 30, Safelite Solutions “will begin processing logo’d parts with NAGS Part Numbers™ under the same requirements as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts.” Safelite Solutions and Safelite AutoGlass are both owned by Safelite Group Inc.
Safelite Solutions says auto glass replacement companies must obtain prior approval from the insurer before using NAGS logo’d parts. Shops must also follow OEM guidelines for documenting the use of logo’d parts.
“Invoices that include a NAGS logo’d part and do not have proof of prior approval and proof of purchase (POP) documentation will be paid down to non-logo’d NAGS rates per the insurer requirements,” the notification says.
Industry Voices
Many in the auto glass industry took to social media to express their concern. Sean Maskell, owner of Tarpon Auto Glass in Holiday, Florida, is one of them.
“It’s ridiculous,” he tells glassBYTEs/AGRR. “It’s just another power grab … It’s going to take a lot longer to finish a job because we’ll have to wait for approval.”
Maskell says it has already started taking longer for Safelite Solutions to process claims since it became State Farm’s TPA. Now, he’s afraid that the problem will get worse.
“It used to take 24 hours to get an approval with a State Farm policy,” he says. “After the switch, it started taking up to two weeks. It’s going to be even longer now that we have to submit approval requests and POPs for logo’d parts.”
The POP requirement alone could add extra time, says Joshua Levine, the co-owner and operations manager of Pennsylvania-based Arrow Auto Glass.
“I’ve talked to a few of the distributors, and while some say they could get us a POP next day, there’s at least one I’m not sure about,” Levine says. “If I can get those POPs quickly, it would be much easier to comply with the new guidelines and still get a claim approved.”
PGW Auto Glass responded to glassBYTE’s question about POP availability, stating that customers can download POPs directly from its site.
Navigating Changes
Jeep Wrangler replacements are among the most common jobs Arrow Auto Glass does, Levine says.
“It’s a headache,” he says. “Everyone who drives a Wrangler wants glass with the logo. All of those claims will have to get approved from now on.”
Both Levine and Patricia Smiley, president of Quackt Glass in the Carolinas, question whether Safelite Solutions will be able to keep up with the influx of work.
“Billing has already been slow, and we have to email instead of calling,” Smiley says.
Levine remains optimistic, saying, “We’ll navigate this just like any other changes that come our way.”
We pulled out of doing any insurance work and just have the customer pay and file for reimbursement. Now that’s changing with the Safelite lobbyist wanting insurance company to issue a claim number before any work is done. They have entirely too much control of the market.
I did not receive that e-mail. However, I have to agree with almost all of these comments from other glass shops. I too have noticed the increased time from verification of coverage to approvals. I have 3 that I am working on now that have turned into a nightmare. It should not be this hard.
I’m not sure why anybody isn’t talking about the fact that this allows us to buy OEM (logo’d parts) parts from our distributors without having to get a POP from a dealership. You’re getting OEM approval and payout for a part that’s going to cost you 30% less if not more from our normal distributors. Before you had to buy OEM from a dealership with a POP to get paid out for OEM. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Quit your crying . If the customer wants it they can pay the difference and fight it . I could care less. Now I do think that carlite should not be assigned nags part # as well as Mopar parts it’s my opinion and if you do not like it oh well
is this the insurance companies choice or Safelites? Who governs Safelites usage of logo parts who do they have to show proof of purchase to themselves? They dont need to do a inspection for any jobs they do. Whos monitoring Safelites over billing?