Insurers pay for recharging an electric vehicle less than the usual third of the time, and continue to purchase pre- and post-repair scans a lot more than 80% of the time, based on outcomes of a fall “Who Will pay for What?” survey in excess of 600 collision repairers.
This was the very first time the vehicle charging question have been contained in among the quarterly surveys, conducted by Mike Anderson of Collision Advice in conjunction with CRASH Network.
The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey, focusing on “not-included” refinish labor operations, is now open with the month of January. Continue reading for details of how you can assist the industry by participating.
Perhaps indicating the limited market penetration of EVs up to now, roughly 75% of respondents said they'd never sought payment for recharging an EV’s battery power.
According to queries submitted with the Database Enhancement Gateway , charging an electrical vehicle is really a not-included operation within the P-pages of CCC, Mitchell and Audatex.
Although EVs constitute merely a fraction from the vehicles on U.S. roadways, “I anticipate seeing this grow later on as electric vehicles become increasingly common,” Anderson said. General Motors, for instance, is standing by its target of having EVs take into account the majority of its sales by 2035, while Toyota and Volkswagen recently laid out plans to invest a total of $170 billion on EV development.
The survey discovered that, among the eight major insurers included, USAA was most likely to pay for the operation at least some of the time. The remainder were reported to “never” pay 48% to 55% of the time, showing a diploma of consistency across the industry.
Shops which are people in insurers direct repair programs generally were paid more often than the ones that aren't, according to the survey. Progressive was the outlier, saying no to DRP shops 66.7% of the time, and non-DRPs 44.9% of the time – though the numbers may be they canrrrt be statistically significant.
In his commentary, Anderson noted, “Another labor operation that may be needed is to drive a vehicle sufficiently to lessen the battery charge just before painting. Some OEMs say the battery can't be over a 20 % charge during refinishing.”
He also noticed that several companies, such as ClipperCreek, are actually marketing charging stations which have the ability to produce a receipt, similar to a gasoline pump.
Scanning charges
The survey also revealed that payment for pre- and post-repair scans continues to be widely accepted over the industry. The good thing is that more than 80 % of repairers were paid for these operations “always” or “most of the time.” Less good, Anderson said, is that the number continues to be below 100%.
OEMs routinely require scans both before and after repair. This, for instance, is Honda’s position statement on scanning:
It is the position of American Honda that vehicles involved in a collision* should have the next minimum diagnostic scans, inspections, and/or calibrations done to avoid improper repair:
- A preliminary diagnostic scan throughout the repair estimation phase to determine what Diagnostic Trouble Codes DTCs may be present, so proper repairs may be included. See Background On Scan Requirements paragraph to learn more.
- A post repair diagnostic scan to confirm that no DTCs remain.
Any repair that requires disconnection of electrical components in order to perform the repair will need a post-repair diagnostic scan to verify when the component is reconnected properly and functioning.
Damage that requires parts of the body replacement will always require a post-repair diagnostic scan.
Some safety and driver assistive systems will require inspections, calibration, and/or aiming after collision or other body repairs. See page 2 for additional information.
*A collision is understood to be damage that exceeds minor outer panel cosmetic distortion.
The survey found insurers slightly less willing to pay for pre-repair scans than post-repair scans. State Farm was most resistant from the eight insurers included, accompanied by Geico. It’s interesting to notice that the overwhelming most of repairers have requested payment for that procedure, with “never asked” reported 1% of times or less.
Even fewer repairers – 0.8 percent or less – reported never asking for payment for post-repair scans. Again, State Farm lagged the area in willingness to pay for the process, followed by Geico.
“This really is not the same as a few of the other procedures in which a significant percentage of shops aren't getting paid since they are not seeking to get paid,” Anderson said in his commentary. “In this case, when shops aren't being paid, it's generally due to friction from the insurance companies. But additionally keep in mind that some insurance company refusing to cover a post-repair scan does not remove your shop's liability for not performing a scan.”
Anderson noted that does not every malfunctioning component of a vehicle sets a splash light, which some functions require a certain number of key cycles before a light is triggered, making scanning an important part of the safe and proper repair of the vehicle.
“There is no dash warning light, for instance, that tells you the Bluetooth feature isn't working. There may be no dash light for blind-spot monitoring or adaptive cruise control. So, I look forward towards the day when post-repair scans are now being paid 100 %,” he wrote.
Total loss fees
CRASH Network also known as focus on the findings of an earlier “Who Pays?” survey, which discovered that the percentage of U.S. shops saying they are paid an administrative fee associated with the processing of total losses has risen steadily in the last several years.
In 2022, 72% of retailers said they are paid always, or more often than not, once they bill with this work. Once the “Who Pays for What?” surveys began in 2022, just 46% said these were regularly paid a total loss administrative fee when they invoiced for it.
The survey also discovered that the proportion of retailers that say they have never billed for this fee has declined steadily, falling from 30% in 2022 to just 11% in 2022.
“Processing an overall total loss has become more complex of computer used to be,” Anderson said. “It can involve more tear-down, more research of OEM procedures, vehicle scans and more.”
According to the 2022 survey, 74 percent of retailers itemize charges for total loss processing. As well as the administrative time, these charges may include moving a non-drivable vehicle, covering the vehicle to protect it from weather, etc.
Back in 2022, 38% of shops said they deemed that the top eight largest insurers in the survey “never” paid an administrative fee for total losses. In 2011, only 17% percent still thought so.
New ‘Who Pays?’ survey now open
The latest quarterly “Who Will pay for What?” survey has become open with the month of January. It focuses on “not-included” refinish labor operations. Shops may take laptop computer at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YDTT8NN.
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.
Anderson said the survey, which will take about 15 minutes, can be completed by anyone inside a shop familiar with the shop’s billing practices and the payment practices of at least some of the largest national insurers. Each shop’s individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released.
The outcomes of previous articles are available too online at https://www.crashnetwork.com/collisionadvice.
