National Glass Exchange

National Glass Exchange Unveils Road Guardian Road Hazard Windshield Replacement Service Plan to Independent Insurance... - Auto News from June 10, 2008

TRINIDAD, Colo., June 10 - The National Glass Exchange (NGE) released its Road Guardian Windshield Replacement Service plan in a bold and innovative program for the new cash market for windshield replacement that has emerged benefiting AGR shops, Insurance agencies with the consumer benefiting overall. Road Guardian gives NGE partners the competitive edge in a volatile competitive market.

"The Road Guardian program fills the gap in comprehensive Auto Insurance coverage by providing windshield coverage if the consumer has a deductible," says Jim Pruce, President and CEO. The Road Guardian plan not only fills that protection gap but has been extended to include up to two windshield replacements per year and still saves the consumer money overall.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time that a cooperative advertising and marketing campaign is pairing up AGR shops and Insurance Agencies for the purpose of providing full service for the consumer as well as driving business for the partners", says Pruce.

For the first time the businesses that really service the customer can directly interface with them to provide a better service without the interference from a third party administrator or without being led to a provider that does sub-standard installations. With more and more Insurance companies all advertising saving the consumer money by possibly raising deductibles, the consumer is left with no alternative but to pay for their windshield out of pocket.

Considering that 90% of all auto comprehensive claims are for windshield replacements, the customer will be looking for relief for paying for a windshield replacement. Road Guardian fills that void and now the AGR shops along with the Insurance agents can concentrate on service and customer retention and driving market share. Because of the rates paid by Road Guardian for installations, the AGR shop can concentrate on providing service while ensuring a safe and quality windshield replacement.

"We are looking for aggressive AGR shops and Independent Insurance Agencies that may already are working together or are aware of each others reputations for quality work and customer service," says Pruce. This is a perfect marriage with the customer winning.

The AGR shop selection criteria will be based upon geographic location and compliance with the AGR Safety Specifications supported by the Insurance Industry. Applications are available at http://www.nationalglassexchange.com.

The National Glass Exchange (NGE) has announced the formation of an auto glass replacement market that it says will benefit independent glass shops and consumers. Read Whole Story

excerpted: Auto Triggers

Unfortunately, it is much harder to pinpoint which types of claims may cause your auto insurance rates to spike.

For the consumer, automobile insurance is more volatile and very dependent on driving record, age and types and number of claims, Weston says.

Other rate-hike or policy cancellation triggers vary from state to state and company to company. However, factors that may be considered include whether you were driving while drunk, whether injuries incurred, and the severity and type of accident.

Some companies have a policy to forgive a first accident, but such rules are not ironclad.

To keep your premiums from increasing, it's usually a good idea to avoid filing an auto claim if you have accidents or damage totaling $1,000 or less. If you decide to take this approach, make sure to raise your deductible to $1,000, which can lower your premiums.

Paying out of pocket for damage covered by insurance is distasteful to many people. However, a series of small claims can result in increased premiums and possible loss of coverage. Read Whole Story

National Glass Exchange Creates New AGR Market Saving Consumers on Insurance

TRINIDAD, Colo., Feb 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Glass Exchange (NGE) announced today its new program to dramatically change the Auto Windshield Replacement (Comprehensive Auto Insurance) market. The program includes the Road Guardian Road Hazard warranty to enable the insured to replace their damaged passenger vehicle windshield at no cost to them.

The program is tailored to give coverage to insured drivers that have a deductible above the cost of a windshield replacement, an increasingly common occurrence. "By purchasing a Road Guardian warranty, the insured is covered for one windshield replacement per year, while possibly saving on their annual comprehensive auto insurance premium by raising their deductible," says Jim Pruce, President and CEO.

In addition, the program adds new life to the diminishing number of independently owned Auto Glass Replacement (AGR) shops by providing them with fair and reasonable rates for their work and payment in a timely manner. These have been the two major areas of concern from the AGR shops. NGE affiliated shops can sell the warranties, thus affording them the opportunity to build customer loyalty, and to expand their marketing and promotion. Warranty work will be directed to NGE affiliated AGR shops.

The real winner of this program is the general public. Annual comprehensive auto premiums are increasing to the point where they are becoming cost prohibitive, a low cost warranty becomes a no-brainer. A $500 Comprehensive deductible is becoming the norm, while $1000 deductible policies are becoming more attractive due to lower annual rates. The insured must pay for his windshield replacement out of pocket and ends up shopping for price rather than safety and quality. The windshield may be replaced by a non-safety standard compliant AGR shop that is tempted to provide a quick and shoddy installation to compensate for the lower price.

"While our program is initially targeting the United States and Canada," says Pruce, "it is also a viable program on the global level. Wherever auto insurance is sold, the Road Hazard Warranty is applicable and cost effective."

The AGR shop selection criteria will be based upon compliance with the AGR Safety Specifications supported by the Insurance companies and geographic location for maximum service area coverage. Applications will be available at http://www.nationalglassexchange.com and will be considered on a first come basis.

Jim Pruce, co-founder of the National Glass Exchange (NGE) in Trinidad, Colo., says the company is in talks with a number of unnamed suppliers, including glass manufacturers and insurers, but has not signed any contracts to date. "We are currently talking with two glass manufacturers, traditional insurance, e-commerce insurance, and several tier-two insurance companies, as well as car leasing companies," Pruce told glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR magazine. Read Full Story

July 31, 2007 /PRNewswire

eDirectGlass Announces Strategic Alliance with National Glass Exchange

SCOTTSDALE, AZ, July 31, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- eDirectGlass, the worldwide leading provider of Internet based point-of-sale and mobile related technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMJ Logistics, Inc., today announced that it has entered in to a strategic alliance with National Glass Exchange (‘NGE’) to provide the technology platform and support services for its soon to be launched nationwide automotive glass program.

“For years the automotive glass repair and replacement industry has been held hostage when it comes to working on insurance claims. The power of free enterprise has been at the mercy of third-party administrators (‘TPA’) who have slowly eroded the entire automotive glass claims segment while providing no significant value-added services to the shops that perform the work,” said Gary Hart, chief executive officer at eDirectGlass. “Through the launch of the anticipated NGE program, the industry will finally have a claims mechanism that is simple, fast and fair. Fair to the consumer, insurer and glass shops.”

The NGE process is simplicity itself. NGE will replace the TPA function through the patent pending technology found in the eDirectGlass Claims Manager and Total Shop Management platform providing:

· payment that will be paid directly to the shop within five (5) working days, all electronically.

NGE will have a program for both independent shops and affiliated shops that will deliver a significantly higher cash price for insurance claims than the current TPA offer and acceptance programs. In addition, shops will have access to better pricing on products and technology to support strict adherence to the AGRSS safety standards.

“NGE conducted an exhaustive search for a technology partner who can deliver the necessary platform to accomplish our goals. eDirectGlass is years ahead of the technology providers in the industry and has made the greatest positive impact in the last several years. If anything, they brought the awareness of the power of the Internet to an entire industry,” said Jim Pruce, co-founder of NGE. “We are excited about the introduction of NGE to the industry and we are confident our program will create the changes needed for the industry to evolve by utilizing an e-commerce solution. With the willingness of the Insurance companies, our program will save the Insurance companies money, allow the Independent replacement shops to become more profitable, and more importantly provide better and timelier service for the consumer.”

NGE is the synthesis of decades of practical experience in the auto glass industry, forward reaching vision, and an underlying dedication to ensuring the survival and prosperity of the independent auto glass shops across the country. NGE program details will be publicly made available within weeks at both their website and through media events. Interested parties are encouraged to visit www.nationalglassexchange.com for pre-launch details or call Jim Pruce at 719.845.0150.

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