‘Who Pays for What?’ survey on not-included operations open through end of April
A “Who Pays for What?” survey conducted earlier this year by Collision Advice and CRASH Network was the first to ask shops whether they are billing for the additional time to prep an adjacent panel, and if so, how often they’re paid for it.
When a repair plan calls for blending the paint into an adjacent panel, but that previously painted panel has surface texture problems, such as “orange peel” or other imperfections, that must be corrected before blending the color or extending the clearcoat, a CRASH Network press release states.
The time needed to correct these issues may include additional sanding, leveling, or surface refinement beyond the light scuffing typically required for a new, undamaged panel. And in all three estimating systems, that additional labor is not included in standard refinish, blend, or clearcoat operations and must be determined based on the condition of the existing finish that needs to be corrected, the release says.
Just over 2 in 5 shops itemize the operations on their estimate, and about half of those say they are reimbursed “always” or “most of the time” by the eight largest national insurers.
“I would encourage shops to reach out to their paint manufacturer to get educated on this process,” said shop consultant Mike Anderson, of Collision Advice.
The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey is now open through April, with a focus on not-included frame and mechanical labor operations.
Survey participants receive a free report with complete survey findings, along with analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented.
The survey can be completed in about 15 minutes by anyone familiar with their shop’s billing practices and the payment practices of at least some of the largest national insurers. Only aggregated data is released.
The results of previous surveys are also available online.
Results from the last “Who Pays?” survey, released in January, showed that about 40% of shop respondents said they had never itemized time spent researching diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) on invoices.
This number was down from 50% in 2020.
Of those who did itemize the time, 21% said they are “always” or “most of the time” paid for the charge by the largest eight insurers, and 46% said they are paid “some of the time.”
The survey also found that 92% of those who negotiated for a pre-repair scan were paid by the top insurers.
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