National General rejects suggestion of ‘national policy’ restricting reimbursements to dealer rates, despite adjuster statement
National General, an Allstate company, does not require scans and calibrations to meet dealership pricing, an Allstate spokesperson said, correcting statements made by an adjuster’s email.
The recent email claims that National General’s policy standard for pre- and post-scans and calibrations should not exceed dealer-quoted pricing.
“Our company policy standard for pre/post scans and calibrations: cost should not exceed Dealer quoted pricing,” the email said. “We will no longer accept sublet vendor invoice for calibration costs. Verification pricing per nearest dealership to your shop. *All OEM documentation to support requested calibrations is required (ADAS report is NOT OEM Documentation)*. If your sublet vendor charges a higher rate than that of the dealer, vehicle will need to be sent to dealer or pricing with vendor will need to be negotiated by you to match dealer quote. Please note any above average rates or sublet cost markup will result in out-of-pocket expense to owner per policy there is no coverage for those charges. Discuss any out-of-pocket costs with the owner prior to beginning repairs.”
Repairer Driven News asked National General for clarification, and Allstate responded, “We do not impose any reimbursement limits for scans and calibrations based on dealership pricing.”
The conversation about dealership pricing follows shops stating that insurance companies often call dealership service centers to verify cost and the need for services such as scans, calibrations, and safety inspections.
A Colorado shop told RDN in March that State Farm was providing supplements based on pricing at nearby dealerships following the rollout of a calibration program in the state.
“When they called the dealership, they gave the wrong wording and got the wrong pricing,” said Michael Arellano, Rickenbaugh Collision Center East, at the time. “We called the dealership and were able to get the right pricing.”
Panelists agreed during multiple discussions at the 2025 SEMA Show that dealerships are significantly lacking in education on safety inspections.
During a SEMA Collision and Refinish Stage panel discussion held by SCRS to recap the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit sessions, Justin Lewis, president of Accurate Auto Body, said he’s personally driven to dealerships to sit down and show them the OEM technical pages about safety inspections.
Gerry Rosenbarker, Mohawk Collision team general manager, said during an SCRS OEM Summit panel discussion that about 1% of service departments are knowledgeable or equipped to complete inspections.
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