Mr. Smolda, you suggest that policyholders will save money. My convictions are that insureds who need repairs under a PPO will in fact be losers through the agony of the deflated value of poorly repaired vehicles. This expense will be substantial when compared to the small premium savings offered by the PPO policy. That is exactly what the great insurance conglomerates are attempting. Insurance companies are not offering PPO policies with the use of quality repair shops in mind, concern to save policyholders money, or offer consumers smooth claims handling procedures.
Insurers have no concerns for policyholders or collision repair facilities.
They think only in terms of profit. There is a lot of documentation in this country about extreme job reductions within the insurance industry. I believe that if they should successfully insert the PPO program, there will be further reductions within their current staffs. I have many business acquaintances and friends in the insurance business. These are good, hard-working people and I think that they should be as concerned about the introduction of PPOs as the repair shops are.