Würzburg/Germany, 26 July 2007
The car insurance market is a highly competitive one. That fact is reflected in the prices of insurance premiums. However, customers frequently only ostensibly benefit from the discounts they are offered, which often actually do not make sense. What ought to be much more important to the consumer is „what happens if something happens“.
The current issue (no. 30) of Germany’s specialist magazine for the motor sector, »kfz-betrieb«, reports on the connections between the insurance premium and the repair of damage after a car accident. The discounts on premiums effectively force the insurers to demand horrendous price discounts from car repair garages whenever damages have occurred. That, in turn, has a direct effect on the quality of the repair work carried out. Because the facts described above mean that car repair garages cannot generate the necessary margins to be able to invest in their business and keep it up to date. Repair garages need to invest, above all, in training its staff members and purchasing the necessary equipment. And, as journalists from the German town of Würzburg heard at a meeting of experts to discuss the topic of car body reconditioning, such investment is absolutely essential. The meeting was attended by automobile manufacturers, associations, repair garage outfitters and insurance companies.
Cars have changed drastically over the past ten years. That doesn’t apply so much to what they look like and their basic functions. But it is precisely because of the changes that repair garages have to make investments. The steering policy pursued by insurance companies as described above has adverse consequences because damaged cars are channelled into those repair garages which offer the insurers favourable conditions. Not just car repair garages but also »kfz-betrieb« magazine has therefore issued an express warning of the dangers of this steering policy. Because it means that the end-consumer also loses control of his car and then it may be that the repair garage commissioned to repair the damage is not the one that he would choose to place his trust in.
»kfz-betrieb« is published by Vogel Auto Media, Würzburg/Germany, and is the most widely read specialist magazine in the German car trade, celebrating its 95th anniversary in 2005 and fulfilling the role of official publication of the German vehicle trade association (ZDK), which represents the interests of over 40,000 car dealer businesses and repair garages. Current daily news from the entire motor sector is available at www.kfz-betrieb.de and also in the newsletter issued daily.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact:
Konrad Wenz
„Services & Technology“ Department
Editorial office of »kfz-betrieb« – weekly journal & website
Vogel Auto Media
97064 Würzburg/Germany
Tel. +49 (0)931 418-25 56
Fax +49 (0)931 418-20 50
Email: norbert_rubbel@vogel-automedien.de
