Twice the percentage of shops are getting paid by eight largest insurers than when the question was first asked in the survey series in 2016
Portland, Ore.—Nearly 50 percent of shops now say they are regularly getting paid for the labor involved in inspecting seatbelts by the eight largest national insurers, twice the percentage that said that when the question was first asked in the “Who Pays for What?” survey series back in 2016.
This “not-included” repair operation—for which every OEM has a very specific procedure—is a necessary and required part of a safe collision repair, Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, said, adding he will not be satisfied until 100 percent of shops are performing it.
“As I conduct workshops across the country for automakers and wholesale parts managers, it is concerning to me to hear how few seat belts are being sold,” said Anderson, who conducts the “Who Pays” surveys with CRASH Network. “This leads me to believe that too many in the industry do not understand how critical this procedure is, or aren’t looking at the OEM information on this to know how to properly inspect a seat belt. It’s often more than just a visual inspection.”
The industry does appear to be headed in the right direction on the procedure. In 2016, 63 percent of shops acknowledged they had never included it on a final invoice (that’s fallen to just 20 percent today), and of those who had in 2016, more than half (56 percent) said that insurers would never pay for it. Today, 1 in 4 still believe that insurers won’t pay them for the procedure, even while 49 percent of the shops that do charge for it say they get paid all or most of the time by the eight largest national insurers, and another 26 percent are paid at least sometimes.
“I am glad to see the big improvement, but more is needed,” Anderson said. “As an industry, we must accept responsibility for researching and following the requirements for this on every single vehicle we repair.”
Take the latest survey
The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey is now open through the month of October. It focuses on billing and payment practices related to scanning and calibrations, aluminum repair and shop supplies.
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. Each shop’s individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released.
The results of previous surveys are also available online here.
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