Women, Insurance, and the Automotive Industry

This is a Public Service Announcement(PSA) / Long Post Alert (LPA)/ and First In A Series (FIAS)

[Please also check out Uncle Jim's post on this topic.]

I grew up hearing it. We all did, and some of us have had horrible experiences with cars and shops, verifying what we grew up hearing; that women are taken advantage of in mechanical and body shops. Women are stupid when it comes to cars, and insurance, and repairs.

While I won't say that's NOT true, I'm also not going to throw out a blanket endorsement of this perspective. Why? Because for the last 5 years, I was inside this industry.

And if there's anyone "lower" than a woman when it comes to cars, it's a claims adjuster. And it's not about the individual adjuster; it's about the company that's paying the bills.

Here's the reality: there are so many myths about how insurance works, how mechanical shops work, and how body shops work, especially in relation to women, that it's impossible to keep it all straight.

In this post, I'm going to address the basic mythology and answer according to the reality I saw and lived. My experience encompasses my own personal examples, my contacts with the investigation of accidents, damages, thefts, and fires, my own experience in estimating damages, and finally, my likewise extensive experience in dealing with shops.


The basic mythology goes like this:

1. Women get "taken" every time they go to a shop because they don't know anything about cars, and the shops know this so they take advantage.

Shops don't take "advantage" of women who don't know better. No more so than men who don't know any better. And it's actually men who impede legitimate repairs more often than women, because, in my experience, men are more likely than women to hold onto the myths, (out of a distorted sense of "machismo") as opposed to women, who were willing to be educated and could verify the information provided via various independent sources. So men...watch out and don't be so cocky. Listen to reason. Women...just use your heads as you always do and don't look to your men to direct you.

I don't mean to bash men, because it is knowledgeable men who have taught me by word and example all of the above.


2. If a man handles a dispute with the insurance company or body shop, it will be resolved.

Um...no. To suggest such a thing is completely demeaning to both men and women. Do you realize that it is women who are especially gifted in negotiation? In certain native communities in Mexico, in the event of, say, a vehicle accident, the women take over. Why? Because the men tend to let their emotions get into the mix and that leads to a fight. Women can negotiate with other women, because we have the ability to connect at a very personal level, and dissociate ourselves from the extension of manhood that most people refer to as their respective transportation. So women make the arrangements and take care of getting things fixed.

In America, things are different, because men like to fix things. Unfortunately, they don't get to fix things because so many of them are accountants or executives, or manicurists, and so have no idea, exactly, what a wrench or a gearbox looks like. And mention "master cylinder" and they look at the engine block! And don't even get me STARTED on the location of the rear differential!

The reality is that most men are no more knowledgeable about cars than women. The great era of the "muscle car" has passed, and the era of the metro-sexual male has actually coincided with the entrance of the androgynous female thanks to rabid feminism. This had led to a general lack of knowledge among both sexes when confronted with the great mystery of the mechanical workings and functional design of the average car or truck.

So typically, when a "male" steps in to "resolve" problems with an insurance company or a shop, he does so from a perspective of such total ignorance he does nothing other than reveal himself to be a complete fool. And his arguments are not based on knowledge of the subject matter at hand, but rather the common mythology that can be disproved through a simple vehicle diagram, record of part prices, the visual of broken parts, and calm conversation.

In other words...male or female, don't be a bully. The people on the other end of the phone are trying to help you and quoting mythology doesn't further your position and certainly doesn't do anything other than damage your dignity.


3. Insurance companies are out to screw everybody.

If I had even a penny for every time I heard that quote, I would have quit my job after the first year. Insurance companies don't care about you. They are a business. Therefore, they are out to screw only themselves. In capitalism, it's the ONLY way to survive. Look out for your own interests, but in the process, be sure to benefit others. The entire foundation of insurance is to make money by paying it out to other people, much like the credit card business. And both industries take HUGE losses every year, along with great profits. That's why people don't purchase a lot of stock in either...a bad climate or economic year is literally financial destruction. But were it not for such destruction, they would not be able to exist.

Let me give you the real scoop, from the inside: Insurance companies hire REAL PEOPLE. They are people like you and me, and those people are assigned to a particular job. If that person happens to be an agent, that agent's job is to sell you a policy in accordance with what you need. It is NOT that agent's job to explain the letter of the policy. It is YOUR job to READ your policy. Claims Adjusters are hired to fulfill various expectations, which often differ from company to company, or from various specialties. In my case, I was a "generalist" before I specialized. And the generalists in my company spoke with all parties of an accident, all witnesses, obtained police reports, inspected cars (as in writing estimates), determined liability, coordinated with shops and other insurance companies, wrote contentions if the claim went to arbitration, and put out "fires" that arose from day to day. Investigators do the same thing, but at their specialized level. There were also specialized adjusters who handed specifically mechanical issues at shops but had no part in liability determination.

Those people work REALLY HARD, they do their BEST in an industry that idolizes agents and ignores adjusters in their commercials, and in spite of being snubbed, they work hard to be sure their customers get what they need in as timely a manner as possible. And sometimes it isn't possible to get to everyone in a day, no matter WHAT the company advertises.

It's always the claims adjusters who are thrown under the bus when something goes wrong. And often, the problem is the fault of the agent or the shop. The adjuster, the average person's contact with an insurance company, in addition to everything else, is also a mediator, because the adjuster knows better than to throw the agent or the shop under the bus. Pitting people against each other actually makes everything more difficult for EVERYONE.

Besides...the adjuster is a person JUST LIKE YOU. He or she knows what it's like to have an accident, and they know that in our over indulgent society, timeliness and "need" are prized. Time is money.

That adjuster also knows that if they provide bad service to you, said adjuster is rated in numbers and "productivity" according to crazy standards. So to fail to meet YOUR expectations as a customer means that the adjuster is going to take a serious hit both in workload and in potentially losing his or her job. Ironically, the people who are the most helpful often are the first to burn out and lose their jobs...because they'd prefer to make their customer happy and serve all their needs rather than meet numbers established by financial analysts who have never done the job.

So...the next time you have a claim, imagine that your son or daughter is the person on the other end of the line. Yes, they have to follow the policy, no they are not out to "get" you, and if you work with them, they will bend over backwards to help you even if it takes extra time and lands their butt in sling with their boss.

4. Shops are out to screw everybody.

Um....no. Shops are out to make money, and screwing everybody is detrimental to ongoing income. They are out to build customer loyalty, and in my experience, they were more than happy to help me, as an adjuster, know what I was looking at. It was a mutual agreement...if I know what you're talking about, I can agree or disagree intelligently and we can have a discussion about what would be proper. Sometimes there's more than one way to go about things. Other times the right thing to do is concrete.

Oh, and if the manufacturer recommends something, it has to be done. That's a reality, especially when a warranty is on the line.

Seriously, there are only a few times when shops didn't listen to me, as a customer, and it was ALWAYS when I was throwing money at them. That's for a different post.

5. Men have no respect for the capacity of women to understand mechanical things.

Complete idiocy. I have to say that when I went to a shop and was honest in that I needed assistance in identifying mechanical parts, they were ALWAYS willing to help. Certainly, they got paid for their time, because my own management recognized that both for negotiation and part identification purposes, the shop deserves to be paid for their time. And no, I'm not a blonde. I'm not even attractive. But the shops were willing to help out professionally because they saw that I was sincere in trying to learn, and had enough knowledge so as to be able to speak somewhat intelligently, as well as recognize their own challenges in their business. It was also my job to work with the customer, without throwing the shop under the bus. They always appreciated that.

Perhaps in the past and maybe in some areas, it is customary to pass blame when something is going wrong, but it's much better, professionally, to own up to any errors and rather than focus on them, to discuss what all parties are doing to WORK TOGETHER to resolve the problem.

The automotive industry is male-dominated, no doubt. But I found most of the men I met on the job to be courteous, friendly, most were knowledgeable, most appreciated that a woman was present and was professional (they have no time for airheads).

Of the times that I was "screwed over" on the job, it had more to do with the company and the interests of the shop than it did with my female identity. That's another story, too, one that involves a family member voiding the warranty on a brand new car belonging to his neice so that he could get a chance to mess with the insurance company. (long story, but one that I need to write for you all.)

Seriously...don't follow this myth. Of course, if you choose to be ignorant, you will be taken advantage of. If you have some basic knowledge, even of your car's manual and recommended service provided by the manufacturer, you will overcome a great deal.

6. If my car has a warranty, I have to get it fixed at the dealership.

Completely, patently untrue. You very rarely HAVE to go to the Dealer for anything. If a given shop is equipped for the damage or repair in question, they can order the parts and do the work. There is a huge myth out there bullying people into thinking that they have to go the dealer in order to have access to manufacturer parts. Um....no. ANY shop can order ANY part. In fact, YOU can order manufacturer parts from home and fix your car yourself.

The warranty issues come in only via certification; a shop doing the work has to be certifiable via the warranty company. So if you know a great mechanical shop that is not a dealer, they can often check to see if the mechanical repair is via warranty, and file a warranty claim on your behalf. They certify the work as if the dealer did it.

Read my lips: the Dealership DOES NOT have the corner on the market in repairs.

In fact, the dealer usually costs you MORE to do the work.

This leads to another topic...

7. What about Aftermarket parts? Used Parts? Remanufactured Parts?

There are a few kinds of parts that can be used on your car, and it is regulated by state law.

In Minnesota, if it involves an insurance claim, if your car is less than 3 years old OR has 16,000 miles or less, then new OEM (Manufacturer) parts are the only things that can be used. You, as an owner, can request the use of other parts, but in the event of a claim, the insurance company can ONLY use those specific parts.

If the car has MORE than 16,000 miles and is older than 3 years, then used (the term LKQ) parts can also be utilized. These are parts from the same year vehicle or newer, and they can be used in an insurance claim without your permission, although they have to provide this information to you in the estimate.

Or, you can choose Aftermarket parts. Here's a dirty little industry secret that the Manufacturer doesn't want you to know:

Many of the parts sold as New/OEM with the manufacturer stamp on it are actually made to spec by other companies. So the manufacturer gets to mark it up with their brand name, even though Company X actually made them. That same company, Company X can sell that very same part, the very same specs, for the very same vehicle, at a greatly reduced cost because, say "FORD" or "CHEVY" or "BMW" isn't stamped on it. We call this an "Aftermarket" part even though it's the EXACT same part the dealer sells you with a marked up label!

Now, there are also aftermarket parts that involve cosmetics, air intakes, ground effects, rims, stereo systems, etc. that are NOT related to the dealer. So when discussing aftermarket parts, just be aware that this encompasses a lot, and is not necessarily the myth-driven idea of a "defective low-quality part".

In fact, if given the choice between used and aftermarket, I would choose aftermarket. Because, say, an aftermarket headlight is going to cover both the shop warranty and the warranty from whoever made the part. A used part carries only the shop warranty and, as indicated...it's used.

People...don't be so afraid of "aftermarket." Even if you have a factory warranty on your car. It won't void it unless the aftermarket part involves weird wiring or other issues. READ YOUR POLICIES!


This is getting long and I have SO MUCH more to say...so let's just say that there is more coming with regard to these topics.