AASP/MA Guides Collision Repairers with Tools to Thrive in ‘25
by Alana Quartuccio
Body shop owners need not be reminded of the loose screws and torn wires that make up this challenging industry.
Surviving when one wrench after the other is thrown in is one thing, but thriving amidst all that chaos is quite another. The only way to truly do so is to have the right tools in hand to make one’s collision repair business operate like the well-oiled machine it should be.
This is precisely what AASP/MA, aka the Alliance, sets out to do. Massachusetts’ auto body association works on behalf of auto body shops to fight for business owners’ and consumers’ best interests while also supplying collision repair professionals with the information they need to troubleshoot past malfunctions.
Change is happening as a result of these efforts. From “Breaking Free in ‘23” to “Getting More in ‘24” and now with their latest quest to “Thrive in ‘25,” the Alliance is seeing more and more body shops achieving success through the proper implementation of best practices via balance billing – and insurance companies are beginning to respond to the pressure.
“Those shops who are willing to adapt, push the envelope and take chances will be the shops that don’t just survive, but thrive,” proposed AASP/MA Executive Director Lucky Papageorg during the Alliance’s October General Membership Meeting, held at the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlborough.
Papageorg assured the audience that customers do not tend to be surprised when presented with a bill as it is not much different than what happens in the medical industry. Reminding all that collision repairers are the “doctor for the vehicle,” he explained, “To accept liability for the repair, you must have the ability to properly collect for it. Balance billing is becoming a true thing. Many shops are doing so and not getting the type of pushback they thought they would.”
Although it’s not at all where it needs to be, there have been noted rate increases by some insurers over the past four years, and it’s largely due to the efforts of the Alliance and its members.
What is the key to getting paid properly?
Documentation. Documentation. Documentation.
This message was conveyed repeatedly throughout the course of the day by many recognizable industry professionals.
According to John Shoemaker (BASF), “Documentation is the key to our survivability. We are the voice of the car. We are the ones who document what needs to happen to the vehicle in order to return it to pre-accident condition. We are much like a reporter who has to answer the who, what, why, when and how on every repair line.”
Shoemaker proceeded to walk the audience through multiple tools that are available, which they can turn to for repair procedure information to help them capture all the necessary steps they should be including on their repair plans.
“Itemize those repairs. If there are different steps, break them out. Use photos or a line note to explain why the photo is there. We have to label everything.
“If you take away anything from my talk today, go back to your shops on Monday, pull the sheets off the cars and see how many R&Is (remove and install) you missed,” he continued. “Labor rate is important, but getting paid for each step we do is more important.”
Yanni Koutmos walked the audience through the itemized material invoicing approach that Eagle MMS offers its users to help them accurately document the true cost of paint and materials in order to get proper reimbursement. Rising costs are not making the situation any easier for shops, so they must be cognizant of the materials they are using and what to accurately charge for these items.
To help send the message home upon negotiating for these items, Koutmos suggests shop owners be mindful of other factors that can play a role toward getting what they need. “Have your house in order. Write for everything you do, and do everything you write. Don’t mess around. There is plenty of money available in honest margins.”
Professionalism is also key. “Have your office look nice and have a clean presentation in your front house.”
Also, Koutmos suggests that one sticks to their goals. “Nothing you implement will be met 100 percent of the time. It takes time and consistency.” He also emphasized the importance of involving the customer. “The consumer is the one who is contracted with the insurance company. The insurer doesn’t owe you anything; they owe indemnification to the policyholder.”
Supplying the next generation of repairers with the right tools to train with is also pivotal to the future of the industry. Chris White of KECO Body Repair Products was on hand to demonstrate the company’s signature L2E Glue Pull Repair Collision System, which they donated to the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School auto body program.
White walked the audience through what the Glue Pull Repair (GPR) system does, calling it “the cleanest, least invasive, quality method to fix dents.” Born out of the paintless dent repair (PRD) world, the system was created to be used as a “conventional repair that doesn’t burn the backside or frontside and isn’t as tedious as PDR,” according to White, who noted the system won the SEMA New Product of the Year award in 2021.
“We appreciate the partnership we have with the industry and its businesses, “ expressed Superintendent Ernie Houle about the donation. Having the budget to get resources for their students is challenging, and with advancing technology in the mix, “partnerships like this are critical, so our instructors can do what they need to in order to ready these students for the outside world.”
Anyone who has been paying attention the past few years is fully aware of the ineffectiveness of the Auto Damage Appraisers Licensing Board (ADALB) in its current state. The Alliance’s proposed legislation to reform the Board by moving it to the Department of Occupational Licensure rather than the Department of Insurance remains one of its top priorities. Michael Parsons of the auto finance company, Source One Financial, has been an advocate for this proposed change. In his line of work, he sees 60 total losses per month, and he’s no stranger to the use of legal action when a total loss claim is undervalued.
“If you ask an appraiser for a copy of the conditioning appraisal term table, they won’t be able to retrieve it,” he said of the wrongdoings he witnesses.
What is the goal of going after an insurance company when being short-changed? For Parsons, it’s “the hope of stopping this [fraud].”
“The ADALB is dysfunctional, and that’s why we need to move it,” Papageorg contributed. “We need to have an expanded Board with consumers on it. The Board is supposed to protect consumers – not insurance companies which are who they serve to protect now.”
Coverall Law’s Sean Preston returned to the AASP/MA forum to continue the conversation started one year prior about the importance of documentation via what he calls “Forever Forms.”
“The ‘Forever Forms’ are the foundation for everything we want to accomplish,” he stated, outlining that his firm’s creation compiles the authorization to repair, initial intake, direction to pay, assignment of rights, lien notice, disclosure of rates, waiver form, oral authorization form and the expedited supplemental appraisal consent form into one three-page document that only requires two signatures from the vehicle owner. Shops can work directly with Coverall Law to implement these forms for their businesses.
“We want to do away with hearing ‘You’re the only one who charges for that’ because it’s bogus,” Preston said of the goal of taking the industry back, adding, “Insurers are smart enough to know you don’t mess with consumers’ ability to contract. Contracts are very powerful.”
It’s all about controlling the narrative.
“We have to take power back from the insurers. We want to put your shop and the vehicle owner on one side of the table and the insurance company on the other. This is why it is so important to have the consumer involved.”
Want more? Check out the December 2024 issue of New England Automotive Report!