Ask an expert

Do I have to take my car to a panel beater that my insurance company suggests or do I have the right to choose a repairer whose work I trust?

Doug

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 17 September 2010

I can’t speak on behalf of every insurance company out there but I did talk to staff at AA Insurance.

Most of their customers prefer to go through their network of approved repairers whose work is guaranteed by AA Insurance – it reduces the hassle of selecting one and having to negotiate repair costs etc.

You can suggest a panel beater of your choice if you have one you know and trust, and they can provide a quote for the repair job. All quotes are evaluated on the basis of quality, completeness and cost – it’s important that the repairer who eventually gets the job is equipped to handle it and it doesn’t automatically go to the lowest bidder.

If a repair was done by an AA Insurance approved repairer, AA Insurance will stand by the repairs 100%. AA Insurance gives a lifetime guarantee on repairs, even if the policy holder sells the car and the new owner isn’t with AA Insurance.

If there are issues after the repair they will take full responsibility for sorting them out to the policy holders satisfaction.

If the car was to go to a repairer of the policy holders choice which isn’t on AA Insurance’s list of approved repairers, they cannot take the same responsibility. If there were problems after the repair it would be up to the policy holder to sort them out.

From my dealings with AA Insurance they have set very high standards for their repair network. At the end of the day they can’t afford to have sub standard repairs carried out and they won’t compromise their standards of repair required.