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Insurance Contract for Obtaining Your Inventory - Blessing or
Curse?
Part 2 of 3
This is a three part article, check last month’s issue for
part one. We get lots of inquiries about the
pros and cons of an insurance contract for obtaining inventory. Also, due to the
high cost of selling through pools, many insurers are considering contracts
again. An insurance contract refers to a contract between a recycler and an
insurance company for the purchase of wrecked vehicles. Last month, we started
the discussion of contracts, which we continue this month.
Some things you should consider if you are
thinking about a contract are:
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Will you be purchasing all of the insurance
company vehicles or just some of them? The insurance company is going to
want an all or nothing contract, generally speaking. They will be concerned
that you will pick the very best vehicles and leave them with vehicles that
will no longer bring the average percentage of ACV they were obtaining
before the contract. If you are purchasing all of the vehicles will there be
any allowances for burns or flood vehicles, or will you pay the full rate
for all vehicles? How will you know if you are getting all of the vehicles? |
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Most insurance vehicles are located at a
storage facility or towing company when they are assigned to you. Who will
pay the advance charges for towing and storage? Some of these vehicles have
substantial charges against them. When the insurance company assigns a
vehicle to you how long will they continue to pay storage? Will they allow
you three days to pickup the vehicles? Can you pick the vehicles up in a
timely manner and avoid additional storage fees? It wouldn’t be unusual to
pay out, say, $400.00 per car in advance charges. Most insurers will
reimburse you, but some won’t. If you get just 20 cars per month, and it
takes 2 months for the titles to show up, you will have $16,000.00 in
advance charges (by the way, the bookkeeping can be complex for such issues
also). |
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When will the invoice be due to the insurance
company for vehicles? Will it be from the date of assignment or from the
date the title is received? Often it is 30 to 60 days before the insurance
company sends the title to you. This brings up another interesting question:
Where will you store these vehicles until you receive the title? In most
states you cannot sell the vehicles or parts from them until you have the
title. Many states will not even allow you to have them on your facility
without a title. Will you rent a separate site to store vehicles on? What if
you never get the title for a vehicle? What will you do with it then? You
must keep them safe, as sometimes owners will claim them. |
You can find last month’s article (part
1) on our web site, if you missed it.
This article was written by Mike Gibson, a staff
consultant at
www.AutoSalvageConsultant.com.
Remember, only you can make BUSINESS GREAT!
Please email if you would like me to send previous
articles.
This article was written by Mike Gibson, a staff consultant at
www.AutoSalvageConsultant.com.
Remember, only you can make BUSINESS GREAT!
Please email if you would like me to send previous articles.
www.AutoSalvageConsultant.com
was formed in 2001 to help recyclers improve their businesses. With over fifty
years of experience in three staff members, the group is THE definitive source
for recyclers’ management and training needs. The founder, Ron Sturgeon is past
owner of AAA Small Car World. In 1999, he sold his six Texas locations, with 140
employees, to Greenleaf. In 2001, he founded North Texas Insurance Auction,
which he sold to Copart in 2002. In 2002, his book “Salvaging Millions” was
published to help small business owners achieve significant success, and was
recently reprinted in the U.S., and published in China, Korea and the Czech
Republic. In June 2003, he joined the new ownership and management team of
GreenLeaf. He also manages his real estate holdings and investments. You can
learn more about how to help your business at
www.autosalvageconsultant.com.You
can reach us at 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117, or by calling or sending Mike
Gibson or Tammy Sturgeon an email message. Mike can be reached at 817-925-8430,
email Mike Gibson and Tammy can be reached at 817-999-1224 or
email Tammy Sturgeon.
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