DRP Shops

hail damage repair

All about DRP

So your car got smashed with hail and now you need to find a hail damage repair facility to remove the dents and work with your insurance company. (Notice we said hail damage repair facility, not body shop) Unless you are in the auto hail damage repair industry, you are probably not familiar with the term “DRP” and how it may affect you when dealing with a hail damage claim.

DRP stands for Direct Repair Program, which is an agreement between insurance companies and body shops. In a nutshell, insurance companies wanted a way to control costs for repairs and the claims process so they created a program where they will send business to the body shop in exchange for cost control and collection of deductibles.

This program includes both collision and hail claims, which is why there is such a bottleneck at body shops when hail storms hit. As we cover in “Body Shop Lead Times”, it’s not like the collision side of the business stops when a hail storm hits, which is why body shops have 6 month lead times after a storm. Frankly the whole thing is set up wrong but that’s a whole other blog post or three.

Now, even though they are not supposed to (because it’s against the law), adjusters regularly “steer” customers to DRP shops. Why? Because the insurance company wants that deductible money (aka repair discount for the insurance company) and the body shop is required to collect it. That is one of the main differences between hail damage repair companies and body shops that are DRP facilities; we are not under contract or controlled by insurance and thus don’t require payment of your deductible.

Now for the really shady underbelly of the DRP world. There are businesses that exist for the single purpose of fighting back against DRP and insurance companies.

hail damage repair

Make no mistake, as much as you may like your local insurance agent, and most that we know are great people, the company they represent is a Fortune 50 conglomerate in an industry known for denying claims, stringing individuals and businesses out in court for years, and doing nearly anything possible to create constant downward pressure on repair facilities for lower prices and discounts.

All Star PDR will work with your insurance company to get every dollar necessary for proper repair of your vehicle. In fact, if the adjuster your insurance company sends out is trying to cut corners, you can expect a call from one of our team members while the adjuster is on site to rectify the situation.

You have more power than the insurance company would like for you to know, and we know how to play the game. Together, we will work with your insurance company to make sure the estimate is adequate for repairs. Understand, the contract for repairing your vehicle is between you and All Star PDR. Your insurance company is only there to facilitate payment for repairs, not tell anyone how to repair your car and for what price…a fact they often forget at DRP facilities.