Published in New Jersey Automotive – Thomas Greco Publishing The concept of a direct repair program (DRP) seemed pretty great when insurers first introduced it: They’d refer claimants to a contracted shop in exchange for certain concessions, such as reduced labor rates or free storage. But as insurers sought to expand their control over the cost of claims, their practice of “recommending” direct repair facilities reduced the amount of work available for non-DRP shops, sounding the death knell for more than a few…as though the Grim Reaper himself had come calling for or independent auto body shops in the form of insurers, yielding a scythe molded from direct repair programs…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Repairing modern vehicles becomes more complicated with each passing year, thanks to advancing technology, an ever-evolving legislative landscape and the complexity of third-party relationships that many shops feel they must maintain. Of course, as independent businesses, shops reserve the right to operate the way they see fit…until they enter an arrangement with an outside entity, such as by participating in insurers’ referral and program contracts, the Commonwealth’s version of direct repair programs (DRPs). The concept of a “referral” program sounds pretty great: Insurers refer claimants to a contracted shop in exchange for certain concessions, such as reduced labor rates or…

Published in AASP-MN News – Thomas Greco Publishing As summer comes to an end, shops struggle to stay afloat amidst evolving technology, ever-changing requirements and higher-than-normal workloads, but at least they don’t need to worry about drowning in the current technician labor pool. Trying to find and retain qualified help in the current workforce pool remains a hot-button – and increasingly frustrating – issue for automotive repair employers. The well of talent has dried up to offer little more than a trickle, and although a multitude of reasons contribute to the lack of qualified technicians entering the automotive and collision industries, it’s difficult to imagine this dilemma being resolved without…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Continued supply chain delays + ongoing workforce shortage = no relief from the backlog that has been plaguing Massachusetts body shops since late last year. If someone had predicted the influx of repair work that would inundate shops in 2022 just two years ago, most collision repairers would have laughed in their face. Yet, that far-fetched forecast has become a reality for many shops. Current inflation has driven gas prices sky-high, resulting in fewer vehicles on the road and fewer accidents, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation website reports there have been 55,959 accidents so far this year, as of…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing For an auto body shop to sell repairs to consumers, the collision professional must first sell the potential customer on the shop itself. Tragically, that sale often presents the largest hurdle in the process. Why? Often, shops struggle to convince customers that they’re the right repair facility because the average consumer perceives automotive shops unfavorably! “The average consumer views the collision repair industry in a negative light,” believes Micki Woods (Micki Woods Marketing). “Many feel that shops are trying to scam them, and there is general mistrust related to many different factors. The most common are bad past experiences, a lack…

Published in AASP-MN News – Thomas Greco Publishing Social security numbers. Driver’s license numbers. Vehicle identification numbers. Personally identifiable information (PII) is “any information that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred,” per the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website. In today’s digital economy, PII is incredibly valuable – its position as such a prize has led to data being dubbed “the new gold.” This claim rings particularly true in the automotive industry where modern vehicles know more about their drivers than the vehicle owner knows about their car, but what happens to all this data when the vehicle is in the shop for service…

Published in New Jersey Automotive – Thomas Greco Publishing As electric vehicles (EVs) become increasingly prevalent on the roads, collision repair shops have begun seeing more damaged EVs in need of repair, but are EVs really that common? How will the increase in EVs impact shops? And how can auto body repair facilities prepare for and adjust to the morphological changes in the industry’s landscape without being submerged? Industry experts shared advice about how shops can prepare for the onslaught of constantly advancing vehicle technology in last month’s New Jersey Automotive (find their tips at bit.ly/NJAEV0622), but who better to provide practical recommendations for proactively bracing for impact from the “Technical Tsunami”…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing Founder, editor and publisher of Hammer & Dolly. Executive director of WMABA. Hall of Eagles inductee. Founder of CRASH Network. Co-founder of the Women’s Industry Network (WIN). One of the first Most Influential Women honorees. Any auto body professional would be proud to hold a single honorific from this list of impressive accomplishments, but Sheila Loftus never settled for mediocrity. As the executive director of WMABA and publisher of Hammer & Dolly from the early 1970s until 2007, this fearless trailblazer tirelessly advocated for the collision repair industry – even after her 2008 retirement. Her death on May 13, at age 79, struck a…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing Cars know more about their drivers than vehicle owners know about their cars these days. Many benefits come from the ever-increasing technology turning our transportation into supercomputers on wheels, such as improvements in safety and convenience factors, but those same systems that improve the driving experience also pose potential privacy hazards by collecting – and potentially sharing – vehicle data. What a scary thought! Data sharing concerns grow even more frightening for collision repair shop owners who often find that their data has been accessed without their knowledge or consent. Data pumps constantly monitor the estimate management standard (EMS) export routine,…

Published in AASP-MN News – Thomas Greco Publishing Do your customers understand what’s involved with repairing a vehicle and running a shop? Do they know how heavily shops invest their time, energy and funds into training, tools and equipment? They may appreciate having safe, reliable transportation, but do they actually recognize the complexity of today’s vehicles? Last month, AASP-MN News talked to consumers to find out exactly what they know…and the initial results were underwhelming to say the least (check it out at bit.ly/AASPconsumer). Yet, after a brief educational session, many consumers developed a better grasp of how much training, effort and expense goes into automotive and collision repair. Education…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Want to watch a shop owner or estimator’s blood pressure rise? Merely utter the phrase “insurance appraiser!” Many shops engage in contentious dialogue with appraisers during the appraisal process. As the expert in the repair, it can be quite frustrating to have your Labor Rate be challenged, to have OEM required and recommended procedures be rejected or to be told you’re “the only one.” On the other hand, appraisers argue that they can’t pay more because the Labor Rate is set by the insurance company, they uphold viewpoints that seem contradictory to conducting a safe repair, or sometimes they merely…

Published in New Jersey Automotive – Thomas Greco Publishing Although experts predict that the increase in safety features will reduce accident frequency, repair complexity is apt to lead to increasing severity – and repairers can expect these trends to magnify as electric vehicles (EVs) become more prevalent. Collision repairers have been bracing for the “Technical Tsunami” for nearly a decade as a dwindling number of shops are inundated with constantly advancing vehicles while simultaneously struggling to process unprecedented high volumes of repair with a limited staff. Although experts predict that the increase in safety features will reduce accident frequency, repair complexity is apt to lead to increasing severity – and…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing “Review and follow the OEM repair procedures on every car, for every reason, every time.” The instructions sound simple enough, yet collision repair shops often encounter challenges in regards to insurer reimbursement, largely based on which of two simple words the vehicle manufacturer opted to use: required or recommended. Since “required” translates into “essential or indispensable,” repairers experience less pushback when performing those procedures, but what about “recommended,” a word that merely means “advised or suggested”? For many, this subtle shift in semantics grants permission to skip a process, but industry leaders disagree and have expressed the opinion that the two…

Published in Texas Automotive – Thomas Greco Publishing Since ABAT began in 2014, association leadership has been in constant contact with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in relation to consumer under-indemnification. Attempts to rectify the situation repeatedly meet with frustration on ABAT’s part as TDI continues to turn a blind eye to insurer abuses. “It seems like TDI is actively deciding not to do anything,” ABAT Executive Director Jill Tuggle claimed last month (catch up on the story at bit.ly/blindTDI). “Any attempt by TDI to downplay or disregard indemnification issues is disingenuous and appears to be an attempt on TDI’s part to distort the facts.” In hopes of getting to…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Collision repair industry professionals around the country struggle to find and retain qualified help, but with the average technician age now exceeding 50 years old, it’s obvious that a lack of young people entering the industry is driving the tech shortage. Last month, New England Automotive Report featured insights from three local collision repair instructors whose various experiences yielded a cohesive message: “Schools and industry have to work hand in hand,” according to Kenneth Stukonis (Assabet Valley High School; Marlborough). “Engagement from local shops is great because they help us and our administration understand which tools and equipment to buy and what…

Published in Texas Automotive – Thomas Greco Publishing If an employee in your shop blatantly refused to perform the job you hired them to do, they probably wouldn’t maintain their position for very long. That’s generally the case at any job, in any industry; however, when it comes to some state agencies governing the insurance industry – the entities tasked with protecting consumers from unfair business practices and under-indemnification – it seems that employees are encouraged to shirk their duties and protect the insurers, rather than the consumers who are being injured. In the December 2021 edition of Texas Automotive, ABAT accused the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) of being…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and growing your own food), it’s impossible to ignore the rising costs in every area of life – from groceries to gas and everything in between. With inflation hitting a 40-year record high of 7.5 percent, everyone is feeling the impact, especially shop owners who are contending with rising costs from every angle, including paint and materials, for which they aren’t being properly reimbursed. “Raw materials is the main issue,” according to John Shoemaker (BASF). “On top of that, a limited number of items are able to enter and leave the ports, making transportation…