NSW repairers raise concerns with Suncorp

Repairers in northern NSW are taking on Suncorp, concerned at the way the company plans to conduct its business in the future.

Repairers in northern NSW have raised concerns with Suncorp about the way the company plans use the two-quote system in GIO when customers don’t choose their repairer.

Country North Vehicle Repairers Association (CNVRA) president, Gary Mamic, wrote to Suncorp expressing concerns about the company’s new GIO PDS and launched a radio advertising campaign to alert the public.

Central to the CNVRA concerns was the move to adopt a two-quote system for GIO customers, similar to AAMI’s approach.

In reply, Suncorp’s executive general manager personal insurance claims, Jason McCracken, said the company believes that seeking two independent quotes for work was a fair and effective business practice that occurs every day across many industries.

McCracken pointed out that in the past decade alone, more than two million cars have been repaired professionally by AAMI-aligned repairers using this method.

He also emphasised that choice of repairer was a vital part of GIO’s policy, and two quotes would only be sought when the customer asked GIO to handle the repair process for them.

“We recently worked with the NSW MTA to make choice of repairer clearer in our new GIO PDS, adding it to the contents page and devoting a page to spelling out how it works,” McCracken said.

According to Mamic, the majority of AAMI AQRs and GIO Recommended Repairers in the Newcastle and Central Coast region are members of the CNVRA, and believe Suncorp is heading in the wrong direction.

“If Suncorp continues along its current path, we believe it will inevitably suffer brand name damage,” Mamic told Suncorp.

“You may ask ‘why would repairers care?’ In the past, GIO has always been a good insurer to work for and we don’t want this to change. With the ever increasing complexity of today’s vehicles, we believe the only way to ensure that vehicles are repaired correctly and safely in line with the Code of Conduct, is to talk and negotiate with the assessor when inspecting the vehicle one-on-one.

“There is too much guesswork associated with inspecting and quoting vehicles at a centre without the luxury of first stripping down the vehicle and inspecting it properly, which is only possible in a repair shop under a one-quote system.”

Mamic pointed to factors that CNVRA members believe make the two-quote system unfair, unworkable and unmanageable.

These include assessor inconsistencies when assessing the vehicles and the assessor’s reluctance to change an item or add items from repair to replace.

Mamic said some repairers were naturally “playing the game” and “under-quoting” to win the job initially and then putting in a large additional once they have it in their shop.

And human error, whether intentional or otherwise, will always be present when awarding and repairing jobs under a two-quote or tendering system, he said.

“What CNVRA is asking, is for Suncorp to reconsider the direction they are heading presently – at least in the Newcastle and Central Coast areas,” Mamic said.

“We believe these areas can still be treated as “rural” and not be involved in the changes that you wish to make in the “metro” areas where we believe your problems are.

“We also believe that the customer will be the biggest loser, missing out on some of the benefits they enjoyed previously, receiving what we believe may be an inferior PDS at no discount to them and delivering only larger profits for Suncorp.

“At the end of the day, (the customers) will be the ones judging the decisions you make, as they did with IAG in 2005.

McCracken assured CNVRA members that Suncorp was taking an individual approach to every area, including the Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter.

 “We are committed to our policy holders in home and motor across the region, as well as the repairers who choose to work with us,” he said.

“One of our largest call centres in the country is across the road from the current motor vehicle assessment centre in Newcastle, employing more than 400 local people andlooking to add another 60 in the new year.”

“Our strong connection and investment in the region is why our personal insurance CEO, Mark Milliner, and myself came to Newcastle and Gosford to talk directly to our aligned repairers, including CNVRA members, about the upcoming changes.

“These changes are about improving our services and taking advantage of the expertise we have developed over many decades of business in Australia.

“AAMI has grown substantially over the years and we’ve found many customers appreciate the insurer managing the claims process on their behalf,” he said.

The CNVRA letter identified two problems with the two-quote assessment process that seem at odds, according to McCracken.

The first was that assessors were reluctant to include additional costs discovered during the repair process, and at the same time other repairers are taking advantage of the two-quote system by under-quoting to win a job then charging large additional costs.

“Our assessors award jobs to the most complete and competitive quote, and we urge yourself and your members to raise any issues about how assessments are handled with the assessor or their repairer development manager,” McCracken said.

“As we’ve said, with more than half a million cars to repair each year a strong and efficient repair industry is a vital partner in helping us meet our obligations to Australian drivers.”