Networks Out..Call Centers In

Those with their ears close to the ground will have heard a pounding noise reverberating through the halls and boardrooms of automobile insurance companies across the U.S. That racket has brought about a major shift in the way glass losses are being handled. Simply put, the glass networks are on the way out, and the independent, impartial call centers are in. This same shift is occurring, just as dramatically, in the auto collision arena. The early rumbles were the well documented abuses of glass networks trying to lower costs by directing as much business as possible to their own glass shops. Competitors responded by meeting lower costs in some cases and increasing costs in others. This hot and cold response enveloped the industry - driving up overall costs for carriers, while imposing inconveniences and safety risks - and started the finger-pointing that may carriers have described as the friction costs of networks.