Following a seven-month trial in NSW during which non-driveable vehicles were assessed on-road and towed directly to repair shops, from Monday 5 December these vehicles must be towed directly to RepairLink Centres for assessment. This includes those where the customer has chosen a repairer.
A letter Suncorp sent out to its NSW insurers says: 'The trial demonstrated significant variations in quoting for vehicles not assessed in RepairLink Centres. As this is not in line with Suncorp’s policy of transparent quoting and assessment, we can no longer continue the practice of on-road assessments.
'Any vehicle taken directly to a repair shop will be towed to a RepairLink Centre for assessment. In these circumstances, we will allow repairers to quote before the vehicle is towed from their shop. If the customer has not chosen a repairer, the established two-quote system will be used.
'Please note that this change relates to the assessing process only. GIO customers will continue to have choice of repairer and any other policy benefits or entitlements.
'Towing companies have been advised of this change, and our staff are committed to ensuring this process runs smoothly and with minimum disruption to our customers.'