In your PDR career you may decide that you are at a spot where you are ready to work with insurance companies. The trick is to get them to work with you. There’s a process and plenty of agreement documents to have to sign. The main one is the DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan), once you have this plan signed and sealed with whichever insurance company you plan to work with, then you’re on the road to working with them. This can be a very good thing for some but for others it has been the kiss of death. 

In the case of our PDR technician Joe, this became an insane and frustrating part of his business. While working with the office to get set up was pleasant, the independent appraisers that they have assigned to your particular vehicle that you are working on may be an absolute idiot. Quickly, the encounter can become a grudge match with the two of you arguing about the process and cost of the repairs that need to be made.

The appraiser is much like dealing with someone from the IRS, they are dogmatic in their approach and are convinced that they can do it for less. The most frustrating part about the experience is that the appraiser is convinced that they know how to work on a vehicle and therefore feel that whatever price they choose is the final word and anything that you say to the contrary will spark a very hostile verbally abusive exchange. 

It does no good to call the insurance company and complain, this is exactly what they want in an appraiser because the results are a lower payout for them. At some point you will have to decide if this is something you are willing to deal with. Some shops work exclusively with insurance companies and others have gone as far as filing criminal trespass charges against their appraisers.