CIC Talks Cover All Bases

by Alana Quartuccio

The Collision Industry Conference (CIC) is the forum for the collision industry. CIC is for the industry, by the industry.

The conversations that take place on that stage are intended to explore solutions, influence growth and encourage positive change for all sectors. And as CIC Chair Dan Risley (CCC Intelligent Solutions) reminded all at the start of the Spring event in Charlotte, NC, “CIC was created for the industry to have a voice.”

Michael Bradshaw (K&M Collision; NC) took action during the open mic portion to call out State Farm for engaging in practices like “reducing labor rates across the country” and utilizing a centralized claims review process, ultimately affecting shops and, more importantly, consumers nationwide. State Farm Property and Casualty Claims Director Ed Mondragon exclaimed from the audience that Bradhaw’s comments “encroached on anti-trust,” though ultimately the claim was denied as having been in violation.

Bradshaw shed light on the tactics of the carrier’s centralized review team, which “removes countless operations without discussion with the body shop, review of the proper documentation or without explanation or names of the individuals on the central review team” following the initial inspection with the carrier’s appraiser. These tactics lead to supplement after supplement, resulting in a 45-60 day process.

Bradshaw presented a challenge to the industry: “We are seeing a systematic approach to devalue the repair and omit required operations, placing consumers in vehicles that are far less safe than they were prior to the accident. If we can’t engage as a body and call out this conduct, why are we here? What are we doing to move the needle forward?” Then to Mondragon, he stated, “I have copied you on emails and I would love to have a conversation with you without having to come to the open mic to bring this to attention.”

In other industry news, legislative activity has been cropping up all over the nation. “There has likely been more legislative activity over the past 12 months than we’ve probably seen in the past few years,” Risley noted, while welcoming the Governmental Committee to the stage. Co-Chairs Jill Tuggle (Auto Body Association of Texas) and Justin Lewis (Washington Independent Collision Repair Association) were joined by WMABA Executive Director Jordan Hendler to examine the various “seeds, weeds and trees” of legislation currently growing all around the country.

Hendler brought light to a Virginia bill recently signed into law that is a win for consumers, as it makes insurers accountable to their policyholders in their loss adjustments. However, the process served as a reminder to pay very close attention to every step.

“The first, second and third iteration of a bill could all be completely different and this is why you have to pay attention to the entire process,” she stated. Hendler stressed the bill went through changes that forced WMABA to bounce back and forth between supporting and not supporting the bill. “Even when it got to the Governor’s desk, she changed it a little bit, so there are things that go on during the entire process you need to be aware of.” Ultimately, the final result proved positive. “It’s a great start at giving consumers transparency in the claims process so ‘We don’t pay for that’ will not stand on its own anymore in the explanation,” Hendler expressed.

A proposed Maryland bill that set out to require shops to have a license to perform ADAS calibrations also served as a reminder to take a close look at what is being put on the table. “It sounded like something we would think is amazing but it had some serious fines attached to it.” The bill had good intentions, but poor execution. The real lesson to be learned comes from where this “pop up” legislation came from: A frustrated calibration professional. This individual took it upon himself to get in front of state legislators to try to get ADAS calibrations regulated, since movement was not happening quickly enough at the federal level. Hendler explained, “We want to see regulation in this area, but not at the state level…it would take three agencies to regulate this.”

Panelists discussed how to best stay on top of legislative activity. Hendler suggested setting up Google and legislative alerts, but cautioned that the searches may not always pick up on the keywords of choice. In the case of the ADAS bill, for example, the language stated it was related to glass –  not auto body.

The scope of the podcast-style “Industry Experiment” segment between Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg and Opus IV CEO Brian Herron examined the role of identification or “scrubbing” tools in the ADAS diagnostic and calibration space, how OEM procedures fit in and how the industry is embracing it all.

Herron commented that “collision repairers are the center of Opus’ universe.” Explaining what the company set out to do initially, he noted, “The problem that we were originally trying to solve was to help the estimate writer identify things that maybe they were missing and bring to their attention.” When asked how consumers and insurers fit into the equation, Herron shared that consumers most likely don’t care to really know what goes into a repair. He explained that the company’s relationships to insurers developed on behalf of their sole focus – repairers. “Our approach was to help our repair shops with OEM scans so our conversations with carriers had to do with helping them understand why OEM scanning is necessary.”

Schulenburg questioned the CEO about his thoughts on the concerns the collision repair community has regarding shortpays. Herron acknowledged the friction in the industry and stated the company stays away from pricing conversations. “I do not see how we would add value.”  However, he indicated carrier conversations needed to be had and “carefully targeted” in order to stress the OEM procedures needed in calibrations.

Conversation also touched on the conflicts that affect just how well the industry is performing ADAS calibrations. They also briefly discussed the potential merger between OPUS IV with asTech/Repairify, with Herron indicating that the combining of the two companies won’t change the dynamic of where a shop could go to sublet or perform self-service calibrations. When it comes to OEM versus aftermarket, he stated, “Every OEM tool should be accessible to anybody.”

As for next steps for the industry, Herron called for the need to “continuously improve the identification and the communication that we need to get it done right.”

Body filler may have evolved in modern times, but the mindset to carry out these techniques has not necessarily followed suit. On behalf of the Repair Process and Procedures Committee, Co-chairs Kye Yeung (European Motor Car Works; CA) and Barry Dorn (Dorn’s Body and Paint; VA), were joined by Ricky Miller (3M), George Smith (SoCur) and Emma White (KECO) to chisel away at some of the wrongdoings in favor of meeting standards.

Dorn suggested the industry should be past this point and more awareness is needed to get repairers on board with best practices. “One of the problems is that technicians think they need to get things done quickly so they can get it to the painter,” Yeung suggested.

Panelists considered the role of training and if discrepancies in that area have indirectly passed along bad habits. They also considered the use of new tools. White explained there is a cultural shift for those who embrace the modern non-invasive Glue Pull Repair (GPR) technique. “It’s not difficult, but it is different and training is absolutely necessary.” Panelists expressed that change is hard. “Technicans may not like the idea of changing their habits,” Miller observed.

On behalf of the Estimating & Repair Planning Committee, Scott VanHulle (I-CAR), Mark Fincher (CCC Intelligent Solutions) and Raj Pofale (Claims Genius) considered how technology is taking photo estimating to the next level. Photo estimating was never intended to replace blueprinting; it’s designed as a replacement for the intake process to get that initial estimate, VanHulle relayed.

Advanced tools are improving accuracy but panelists suggested that human interaction will remain necessary. “There will always be a gap; it won’t be 100-percent accurate,” observed Pofale. “There are thousands of parts on a car so a human will always need to come look at it.”

“It can’t guess things that it can’t see and that’s why human involvement and full disassembly is key,” Fincher added.

Partnerships with vendors, suppliers and manufacturers can go far in helping collision repair facilities grow and expand their offering. The CIC audience heard from panelists via the Business Operations and Management Committee who shared their business expansion experiences.

Kena Dacus (Dacus Auto Body & Collision Repair; KS) praised those vendors who really step it up and can help a shop be efficient. “Your vendors are everything. I learned the hard way that it’s not always about the bottom line and the cost. I’ve switched vendors over one percent [difference] before and I found very quickly that the switch wound up costing me a lot more than one percent. It may be worth more to spend a little more money on a quality vendor who will step up when they say they will.”

Don’t miss out on the next CIC set for Wednesday, July 22 in Chicago/Schaumburg, IL. For more information, visit ciclink.com.

Want more? Check out the June 2026 issue of Hammer & Dolly!