Common cover sheets can save time, speed responses from insurers
When the Collision Division of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) announced this summer that they'd created a supplement form for its members, it led me to take a fresh look at the form we've been using for a number of years.
Like the ASA form, we developed what is essentially a cover sheet to fax to insurers with supplements (although we now use it when e-mailing supplement information as well). It serves a number of purposes. First, it saves time by preventing us from having to type or write a lot of the same information each time — or to forget to include any of this information. It includes check boxes to indicate, for example, if "Repairs on hold; cannot continue without approval," or "Please call me to discuss, review and confirm," or "Confirm deductible amount of $______."
The form also helps our estimators ensure they have included everything necessary with the supplement. Using another section of the form, the estimator can check off what he's including with the cover sheet: estimate, supplement, photos, invoices, pay direct authorization, etc.
Lastly, we created our form because we thought it would improve the uniformity and consistency of how we present our supplements to insurers. If insurers come to recognize our supplements as being complete, orderly and legible, those supplements may be less apt to be pushed aside until later by an overworked adjuster.
The middle section of our form includes space for whatever notes or information we need to provide with the supplement. And the bottom portion is a boxed "payment verification" form. It basically states that the insurer agrees to make payment directly to us for the amount of the supplement within 10 days, and that the vehicle will not be released without the form being signed and returned. This isn't something we require in all cases with all insurers, but it's a useful tool for those insurers that have been less than consistent in paying approved supplements fully and promptly.
We have the form loaded onto each computer in our shop, so that when each person opens it, it's automatically loaded with their name and e-mail address, the current date, etc. It's set up, however, so we can quickly pull down a drop-down box and change the name on the "from" line, for example, if someone is using another employee's desk and computer to send the supplement.
The ASA form, which can be downloaded and customized free of charge by ASA members through the members' only section of the association's Web site (www.asashop.org), serves much the same purpose as our form.
"The ASA supplement form will streamline the supplement process with insurers by offering more consistency," says Mike Schoonover of Schoonover Bodyworks in St. Paul, Minn., who helped develop the ASA form. "Insurers will now see the same form coming from all shops that take advantage of it — with the only difference being the shop's name, logo and contact information. Our industry needs more effective tools and procedures. This is one that will have a positive impact for those who take advantage of it."
There are some nice features to the ASA form. It includes a section that makes it quick for the adjustor to fax back a response after checking some boxes indicating whether the shop should "take pictures," "continue working on the vehicle," or "stop working on the vehicle until I can reinspect."
The ASA form also states that the shop will only wait for 24 hours for a response, and will assume the supplement is approved as submitted if no response is made within that specified time period.
Although I can see some advantages to the industry adopting a standard supplement form, we'll probably continue to use our own. There are some things I prefer about our form over the ASA form, and with only ASA members having access to the association's form, it's not likely to become standardized across a majority of the country's shops.
But if your shop doesn't have a standardized form for supplements, consider the ASA form. And if you have one, I'd encourage you to check out the ASA form as it may provide some ideas for improving the form your shop is using.
