When Ms. S’s 2014 Chevrolet Impala began to exhibit problems caused by electrical “gremlins,” she brought it to her local shop to have it repaired. Fortunately, back when she bought her vehicle, she also protected it from all sorts of gremlins by purchasing a First Automotive vehicle service contract.

Although her vehicle was quickly repaired, a little gremlin managed to slip through, and caused a miscommunication when her claim was initially established. Somehow, the labor rate paid to the shop was less than what the contract allowed. Ms. S reviewed her vehicle service contract, called our Claims department, and asked Claims Adjudicator Stephen W to take a look at her claim.

Sure enough, Stephen discovered that the repair shop had been paid a labor rate of $100 per hour, while Ms. S’s contract allowed up to $125 per hour. At 4.5 labor hours, that amounted to $112.50, which was quickly reimbursed back to Ms. S.

Stephen also provided Ms. S with all of the information she needed to get reimbursed for the rental car expenses she incurred while her vehicle was in the shop. She was so pleased with the outcome of her claim, she placed another call to Buster, our Claims Manager, and left a wonderful voicemail message explaining how grateful she was for Stephen’s courtesy and professionalism, and how happy she is to be our customer.

It all goes to prove once again, gremlins or no gremlins, “We’re the Best in the Business!” 

There’s no substitute for experience. When Mr. Z’s 2012 Dodge Caravan “limped” into his selling dealer’s used car repair shop in Arizona, he was assuming the worst. The engine was exhibiting several malfunction codes, and was misfiring badly. Good thing he had thought ahead and purchased a First Automotive Xtended Care vehicle service contract back when he bought his Caravan.

Per our standard operating procedures, Mr. Z was asked permission for the shop to disassemble the engine to determine what was happening. The report that came back from the shop the next day was not good. One of the cylinder heads was found to be at fault, and would require a replacement.

When Stephen R. in our Dallas-area Claims Department took the shop’s call about Mr. Z’s Caravan, he recognized the symptoms from his days working for a Dodge dealer. He recalled that Dodge had a “Special Policy” for this condition, and would perform the repair at no cost. However, Mr. Z hadn’t taken his vehicle to a Dodge dealer. What to do?

Stephen took it upon himself to contact a Dodge dealer located near the used car repair shop, inquired if the “Special Policy” was still being honored, and asked if they would they be willing to take a vehicle that was a “work in progress.” Usually, the dealer won’t take them. However, Stephen reminded them that the factory would pay for the repair, and persuaded them to take the vehicle.

In the end, Stephen’s extensive automotive experience served everyone well. The vehicle was repaired and returned to Mr. Z. The original repair shop was paid for their work to tear-down the engine and diagnose the problem. And the Dodge dealership was paid by the factory for the approximate $1800 it cost for the claim. It all goes to prove once again that “We’re the Best in the Business!” 

On a typical day, our Claims Department receives calls of all kinds. Most are routine, but some are like this…

Mr. Smith took his RV to a repair shop to have some work done. The shop completed the repairs, and under normal circumstances that would be that. What Mr. Smith didn’t know was, although he had followed the rules of his contract, the repair shop had not.

When you purchase one of our vehicle service contracts, you’ll notice at the bottom of every page is a statement in all capital letters that says, “AUTHORIZATION MUST BE OBTAINED FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR BEFORE STARTING TEARDOWN OR REPAIRS.” This statement also provides a toll-free number to quickly receive the necessary authorization. In addition, all contracts contain a clearly defined procedure on what to do when a breakdown occurs.

Unfortunately, in Mr. Smith’s case, the shop had not obtained authorization to perform the repair.

Not knowing that this had happened, Mr. Smith submitted a claim to us for reimbursement of the amount he had paid to repair his RV. Soon after, he was surprised to receive a letter of denial. He gave us a call to find out why his claim had been denied. One of our Claims Adjudicators tried to help Mr. Smith, but since the shop had not received authorization for the repair, there appeared to be very little he could do. In a last-ditch effort, the Adjudicator transferred Mr. Smith to Fred, his supervisor on duty that day.

Fred was able to determine that, although the repair facility had received all of the correct instructions to allow the claim to proceed normally, the shop had not followed those instructions. As a result, through no fault of his own, Mr. Smith’s claim had been denied.

Fred carefully reviewed Mr. Smith’s claim, and began to separate “the wheat from the chaff.” While some of the work performed on Mr. Smith’s RV was for maintenance, and therefore not covered, several repairs were indeed eligible for coverage under his ProTrek service contract. Once his investigation was complete, Fred determined that Mr. Smith could be reimbursed for a significant portion of his total repair bill.

Fred’s diligence and skill in this claim investigation certainly paid off for a very grateful Mr. Smith, proving once again that SouthwestRe’s Claims Department is “The Best in the Business!”

The claim for the “Jones” family’s 2011 Ford Explorer started out as “normal” as an engine repair can. However, while any auto repair can bring about a stressful situation, this one quickly went sour.

Ms. Jones called our Claims Department and was informed that her contract was in force. We provided her with instructions on how to process her claim, and she selected a local repair shop to repair her vehicle. Very soon, the shop reported her claim to us, and a “major” engine repair was indeed looming for Ms. Jones' vehicle.

Most of the claim process proceeded without incident. A repair estimate was provided, and an inspection was performed. As it turned out, one of our Parts Suppliers was able to secure a replacement engine for a price that was most satisfactory for Ms. Jones, providing a quality part to both meet her needs and save her money in the process.

When the engine arrived at the shop, it appeared to be an even better part than the supplier had at first realized. That’s when things started to go awry. Suddenly, there were unaccounted for labor charges upon labor charges, and Ms. Jones' repair bill ballooned rapidly. When the Service Advisor called us to request payment for the unexpected labor charges, it immediately “raised a red flag” in our department. The supplier was contacted, and it became evident that although the engine was used, it did indeed require some additional labor time. However, it also became clear that it did not require all of the labor charges that had been submitted to us.

All aspects of the claim finally came under scrutiny of Fred F., one of our esteemed Claim Supervisors. After several phone calls to the Service Advisor (and eventually his Service Manager), as well as calls to our Parts Supplier and the customer, it was determined that the technician was mistaken.

The labor issue was finally worked out, the parts were finally all accounted for, and Ms. Jones was able to retrieve her Explorer and move on down the road to enjoy her vehicle despite the “traumatic” event of a major repair. It was through the sheer professionalism of Fred and our entire Claims Department that enabled this situation to remain “grounded” and not spiral out of control. In addition, Fred's diligence saved Ms. Jones an estimated $1300. It was a definite “win-win” for all parties concerned.

Thank you, Fred! You are another fine example of how our Claims Department is clearly the “Best in the Business!” 

Every quarter, our Claims Department typically receives over 25,000 claims. Each of those claims is reviewed by the pros in our Inspection Department. While most claims don’t offer anything remarkable to look at (after all, one leaking water pump looks pretty much the same as another), other claims can include some pretty fantastic images of mangled steel, cooked aluminum, and assorted other things. It can be a bit like watching a train wreck, or even staring at a piece of art (you just can’t look away). After a while, our professionals usually believe they’ve seen it all.

Until the next one, that is.

Claims Team Leader Alex T. was going about the business of reviewing another apparently routine inspection report, when he noticed something peculiar. Plain as day, there was a photo of a leaking CV boot that wasn’t mentioned in the text of the report. Alex immediately checked the claim again, and found that there was no mention made of the CV boot there either.

Being the seasoned professional that he is, Alex quickly verified that the CV boots were covered by the customer’s contract, and surmised that the repair shop had simply forgotten to report them. Alex contacted the repair shop, notified them of the problem, and as a result we paid over $1,100 to have the contract holder’s axle assembly replaced. A real plus for the customer, to say the least!

Alex’s catch helped prevent a potential catastrophic failure of the customer’s axle, which could have disabled their vehicle to the point it would have require towing. Alex also helped the customer avoid any major inconvenience he would have endured if the failure had occurred.

This is yet another instance where the inspection pros at SouthwestRe easily demonstrate that “We’re the Best in the Business!” Way to go, Alex!

In the first six months of this year alone, the professional adjudicators in our Dallas-area Claims Department fielded over 157,000 calls, and adjudicated over 50,000 claims for our valued contract holders. Yet despite this immense volume of work, our adjudicators always make certain that each of those calls and claims receive the personalized attention they require and that our customers deserve.

Case in point: a claim for a 2011 VW-GTI engine repair was called in by one of our premier repair shops. Problems with complex components, especially today’s engines and transmissions, can test the knowledge of even the most skilled mechanical expert. Unfortunately, something had indeed slipped past the repair shop when they submitted the claim to us. It was fortunate for the customer that adjudicator John G. had the expertise to know that something just wasn’t right.

John became very concerned when the repair in question did not seem to address a complete repair to solve the customer’s complaint. Utilizing his extensive powertrain expertise, John brought the claim to the attention of his Team Leader, who agreed with John’s assessment and immediately contacted the Service Manager at the repair shop.

Once the Service Manager reviewed the situation, he quickly confirmed John’s suspicions, and directed his repair staff to properly address the issue for the customer. While John’s actions may have made the claim a bit more involved, he ultimately saved the customer from a “Band Aid” fix, not to mention a potential catastrophic engine failure that could have easily cost them $1,000 or more!

Congratulations to John G., and to all of the experts in our Claims Department, for proving day after day and call after call, that SouthwestRe is “The Best in the Business!”

As vehicle owners know all too well, auto repairs can often cost substantial amounts of money. Given the complexity of today’s cars and trucks, even seemingly minor repairs can easily amount to a bill of three figures or more.

Our latest “True Claims Story” is about Ms. M., one of our valued contract holders from Texas, who took her Nissan to a local repair shop for A/C repairs. As anyone in Texas will tell you, while much of the country is already enjoying cooler weather when September rolls around, it’s still hot, hot, hot in the Lone Star State. Having working air conditioning in your vehicle is not a luxury. It’s an absolute necessity.

Despite their best efforts, the repair shop was unable to duplicate Ms. M.’s problem, as her vehicle’s A/C seemed to be working properly. As specified by her contract, Ms. M. was charged a $100 deductible for the attempted diagnosis of her A/C problem, even though no problem could be found.

Sure enough, when Ms. M. got back home, her vehicle’s air conditioning began to act up again, forcing her to bring her Nissan back to the repair facility again for a second look. This time, the technician was able to diagnose and correct the A/C issue, and Ms. M. soon had her vehicle back in proper working order. Unfortunately, the shop charged Ms. M. another $100 deductible. While that might not seem like much to some people, it was a lot of money to Ms. M.

Her claim came to the attention of our ace Customer Service Representative, Jack S., who felt that having to pay a $100 deductible twice for the same issue was unnecessary. Jack brought the problem to the attention of his supervisor, and was able to have the second deductible waived for a very grateful customer.

Sometimes, it’s our attention to the “little things” that proves over and over again that SouthwestRe’s Claims Department is nothing less “the best in the business.”

SouthwestRe’s Dallas-area Claims Department is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central Time. It is our experience that these are the hours that repair facilities and our valued contract holders need us the most.

One recent Saturday, Mr. S’s Ford F-150 was in need of a covered repair to the brake master cylinder. His repair shop called us to adjudicate the repair, but unfortunately, they called after we had closed for the day. The shop left us a message and completed the repair, and Mr. S submitted his claim for reimbursement.

Mr. S’s claim soon came to the attention of Dwayne W., one of our professional Reimbursement Processors. Upon reviewing the repair shop’s invoice, Dwayne discovered that the shop had only provided Mr. S with a 90 day parts and labor warranty on the repair. At a minimum, SouthwestRe requires a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on all covered repairs.

Dwayne took the initiative, and called the repair shop directly. He explained our policy, and the service advisor agreed that it was in the customer’s best interest for them to resubmit their repair invoice with the required warranty. Once this was done, Dwayne continued to process the claim so Mr. S could receive his $172.08 reimbursement for the repair. To say that Mr. S was delighted by the outcome would be something of an understatement!

This attention to detail and customer service proves once again that “We’re the Best in the Business!” That describes you to a T, Dwayne!