Medical Assurance has again topped the tables of easiest insurers to deal with by the repair industry
The
fifth annual ‘Survey of Insurers’, conducted by the Collision Repair
Association (CRA), rates fifteen companies around New Zealand based on
speed of resolution, price and overall service.
This includes the repair of trucks and other commercial vehicles.
For
the 5th year running, niche provider Medical Assurance topped the
overall results table, with Vero/AMP in second. Third-placed AA/SIS was
one of two big movers, up eight places from 2012. In the opposite
direction, AMI slipped seven places from second spot last year to just
below the industry average.
Zurich remains anchored to the same spot as last year at the bottom of the rankings.
Overall
scores continue to fall – the 2013 average stands at 2.80 (on a scale
of 1 to 4, from poor to excellent), having dropped from an average of
2.87 in 2011 to 2.84 last year.
CRA general manager Neil
Pritchard attributes the lower scores to “even less financial fairness”.
He says repairers are finding business: “Increasingly tough, faced with
higher costs, lower pay rates and a shrinking market.
“Generally,
insurers still fail to acknowledge the increasing cost pressure
repairers are under,” says Pritchard. “CRA members are obligated to
stand behind the quality of their workmanship, which means investing in
training and equipment. As the industry is unregulated, we can’t speak
for non-members.
“At the end of the day, our job is to protect
the interest of our repairers and their ability to give consumers the
best outcome,” Pritchard adds.
“What consumers should be
reminded of, is that they not only have the right to choose who insures
their vehicle – and this survey aims to aid that decision – they also
have the right to choose who repairs it if it’s damaged.”
