Every collision repair shop around the country needs to remember that our top priority is always the safety of our customers. This laser focus can become blurred in the daily routine of collision repair.
If you are looking for easy and simple solutions, then the collision repair industry is not for you. The failure to make safety your No. 1 priority can easily have results affecting the lives of those who come to you and put their trust in your work. That can take on even more meaning if that is your wife, husband, daughter or son driving off in that car you repaired, while cutting corners on safety. Understanding that nothing is more important than safety, why not stroll through your shop and look for a few minutes at those whose livelihood depends on your success.
You can stop reading here and move on to the next article if you believe this is too much drama. But, I hope you will join with me and others as we commit to help us all become even more aware of safety in the results of our industry.
We must educate ourselves before attempting to educate our insurance partners. Do your research on every single claim. Never assume you know because of research you did last week, last month or last year. As the production of each new model incorporates new research on safety, so must you know those details to ensure your repair procedures have adjusted. You must know that you know the correct way to repair each vehicle.
Have your research documented and ready to share quickly and seamlessly. When sharing your documented research, share confidently, yet humbly. The last thing that is productive while negotiating with an insurance representative is a condescending tone. Yet, it is important to remember the body shop is the expert. There has been a growing awareness nationally of the collision repair industry and our procedures, and it is our responsibility to research the OEM recommendations on how to properly and safely repair every vehicle that comes in our door.
It is also important to note there are times where procedures are ambiguous or the language used in the repair procedures leave room for grey areas. For example, “should” and “recommend” do not carry the same meaning as “required” or “must” when negotiating with an insurance provider. Bottom line, it is our responsibility as the shop to repair vehicles the proper way no matter what DRP partnerships are involved. There is too much at stake to negotiate when it comes to safety.
How to educate yourself
There are multiple ways to start the research process. First is with software integrations such as ALLDATA or one of the integration packages from your estimating software provider. Yet we have found the best and most comprehensive resource is the manufacturer directly — www.oemonestop.com is a website where you will find links to the manufacturers’ repair procedures and position statements. I-CAR offers what is called Uniform Procedures for Collision Repair; however, it is important to note that their procedures should be used in conjunction with OEM repair procedures and not in place of OEM procedures.
Key to negotiating is OEM repair procedures
Educating ourselves is not the end all. We then have the responsibility to negotiate a fair and safe repair with the insurance company involved. One of the biggest battles we have experienced over the last couple of years is vehicle diagnostic scanning. There have been levels of frustration that rose to new heights. How is it possible that we, the body shop, the expert, the one who is held liable for the safety of our customers in these vehicles, is told by an insurer, "we do not pay for scanning?" Do you sense my level of frustration? I hope every insurance provider is listening with ears wide open. The safety of our customers should always be top priority.
In my experience, position statements have not been the deciding factor for a couple of our insurance partners to agree to pay for diagnostic scanning. We have submitted position statements with supplement requests for pre- and post-repair scans and were told: “We do not pay for that. We didn’t pay for it before. Why does it all of a sudden need to be done?”
When we pressed on the issue, the insurance representative/manager asked: “What will happen if we do not scan?”
Our response was: "If we do not scan and determine what needs to be re-calibrated or what trouble codes have been triggered that are not seen, the vehicle could be in another accident and people may be hurt or worse.
The response from the manager of this insurance provider was: “We get sued all of the time.”
I share this experience to say, no matter what, it is our responsibility to repair the vehicle correctly. As frustrating as this battle might be, I have some insight to share on negotiating to repair vehicles according to manufacturer recommendations.
As I mentioned, manufacturer position statements have not been the trigger for payment for a few insurance providers to pay for scanning. However, what we have found is much more effective is to dig into the specific repair procedures to determine if a system needs to be queried, calibrated, etc. Since our shops use the asTech scanning option, which is a direct connection to the manufacturers’ scan tool, these functions can be completed during the scanning procedure.
For example, on a 2012 BMW 328I, if the bumper cover is removed, the manufacturer repair procedures state that the lane change assistance control module must be calibrated again. Hence, our estimate reflects a line item that itemizes this procedure; rather than a line item that simply states Pre- and Post-Repair Scan or Health Scan.
Take a 2011 Honda Element. Honda’s repair procedures indicate that there must be Seat Operational Check After Vehicle Collision. According to Honda repair procedures: “This inspection checks the seat weight both empty and with the calibration weights on the front passenger’s seat to fully check the seat weight sensor's operation. This check should be done after ANY collision, even if the airbags did not deploy.”
Please note the “ANY” in the above paragraph is found in Honda’s repair procedures just like that — in ALL CAPITALIZED letters.
When negotiating with the insurance provider, submit a copy of the OEM repair procedures to document and support the repair plan/estimate for each claim.
You will see the two examples I referenced today are not on 2016, 2017 or 2018 models. It is essential to research repair procedures on every single repair every single time. Vehicle diagnostic scanning is one example I chose to highlight in this article. OEM repair procedures must be consulted when making repair vs. replace decisions, sectioning decisions and everything related to the repair.
We are in the business to protect the lives of our customers through safe and proper repairs. Always research OEM repair procedures and if you come to a dead end, ask for help. There is a tremendous amount of resources available to help us find this information. Call the manufacturer technical line, submit an inquiry to I-CAR or contact organizations such as Verifacts. But please do not take the easy road because when that happens, that is putting the lives of consumers in danger should that vehicle ever be in another accident.
