<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Surprise contrast in price quotes for accident repairs
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS in a minor traffic accident recently where my car hit the back of a Nissan one night. The damage appeared to be only to the rear bumper of the Nissan, with none to my car.
The next morning, the Nissan driver and I went to Tan Chong Motor for a damage assessment, and realised the boot could not be closed, so there was some damage to the rear body panel as well. Even so, Tan Chong's service adviser quoted me a total bill of $3,000, including tentative replacement items to be confirmed after further checks, assuming I would pay the bill myself.
In the end, I decided to settle via insurance, and was surprised to hear from my insurance company's representative that Tan Chong quoted $6,000. I insisted on speaking directly to my insurance company. I did, and sent an e-mail message with Tan Chong's price quote to me to the claim officer.
After a couple of days, he called back and said Tan Chong quoted different prices to individuals and insurance companies, but the insurance company managed to bargain it down to $3,000.
Should an insurance company not be in a better position to obtain a lower price than an individual? Is it not also in the interest of the insurance company to pay less rather than accept double the price quoted by the car distributor?
Louis Lam
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS in a minor traffic accident recently where my car hit the back of a Nissan one night. The damage appeared to be only to the rear bumper of the Nissan, with none to my car.
The next morning, the Nissan driver and I went to Tan Chong Motor for a damage assessment, and realised the boot could not be closed, so there was some damage to the rear body panel as well. Even so, Tan Chong's service adviser quoted me a total bill of $3,000, including tentative replacement items to be confirmed after further checks, assuming I would pay the bill myself.
In the end, I decided to settle via insurance, and was surprised to hear from my insurance company's representative that Tan Chong quoted $6,000. I insisted on speaking directly to my insurance company. I did, and sent an e-mail message with Tan Chong's price quote to me to the claim officer.
After a couple of days, he called back and said Tan Chong quoted different prices to individuals and insurance companies, but the insurance company managed to bargain it down to $3,000.
Should an insurance company not be in a better position to obtain a lower price than an individual? Is it not also in the interest of the insurance company to pay less rather than accept double the price quoted by the car distributor?
Louis Lam
