There are still plenty of allegations that the new bigger Safelite steers business to its own glass repair shops. And in doing so, it sounds exactly like another middleman we know of, pharmacy benefit managers, who manage drug formularies for patients while owning their own mail-order or chain of pharmacies. PBMs often manipulate pricing and deductibles to get customers to pay more when they have insurance, even though having insurance should mean you pay less. That’s what the FTC case against PBMs is about.
Here’s a Reddit thread on the matter.
> I have a $1000 deductible for comprehensive claims. My insurance company recommended Safelite and let me schedule directly through them. When I scheduled through the insurance company, the total came to $985. I got curious and went on Safelite’s website directly. I was able to book an identical work order (same part numbers, services, etc) for $616.
it sounds like a customer call his insurer, his insurer sends him to ‘Safelite Solutions’ - their glass benefit division - and ‘Safelite Solutions’ gives him a higher price than he’d pay without insurance. At no point does the customer realize he’s talking to someone trying to steer him to a specific glass repair shop, he thinks he’s talking to his insurance company. Then the insurance company and Safelite split the money from the inflated price.
Doesn’t seem like you are in “good hands” or being treated “like a good neighbor” huh.