Motor Vehicle Repair Industry: Submission to the...
14 February 2014
Key points made in our submission:
Overall, complaints to the ILS about quality of car repairs is an ongoing issue. The process for getting poor repairs fixed is difficult and may involve the cost to the consumer of getting independent assessors. Consumers often indicate they have little trust or confidence in the repair industry.
In our experience, the two biggest problems for consumers in this area are increased cost and hardship while awaiting repairs, and limited right of appeal of an assessor’s decision to write off or not write off a vehicle.
Where a third party is claiming against an insurer for damages it needs to be clearly disclosed to the consumer that the insurer can list the car as a total loss (write off) on the register
Consumers have little knowledge or awareness of their rights in relation to dealing with insurers and consequently their rights in relation to repairs carried out under a contract of insurance.
Issues commonly arise in relation to timeliness of repair, quality of repair and the transparency of the decisions in relation to the assessment of the claim. Insurance contracts will often limit an insurers liability in circumstances of delay.
Regulation and transparency of assessment in our view is key to ensure fair outcomes for consumers, whether products are vertically integrated or not.
