6 | Putting the “Customer” Back in “Customer Service” – Because That’s Who We Work For by Matthew Ciaschini
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
8 | A Bully by Any Other Name by Evangelos “Lucky” Papageorg
LOCAL NEWS
13 | Can You Name All the Founding Fathers of AASP/MA?
16 | Changes & Challenges: Industry Leaders Share Survival Skills by Chasidy Rae Sisk
AASP/MA GOLF OUTING INFORMATION
18 | September 10, 2025
Heritage Country Club, Charlton
LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
36 | The People’s Billion-Dollar Bully (Part Two): How Insurers Took the Little Guy’s Side to Beat Him Down by Sean Preston, Managing Attorney, Coverall Law
ALSO THIS ISSUE
7 | AASP/MA MEMBER APPLICATION
21 | AASP/MA VENDOR AFFINITY PROGRAM SPONSORS
COVER STORY
26 | Sounding Off: Repairers Rally for Fair Labor Rates by Alana Quartuccio
MATTHEW CIASCHINI
Putting the “Customer” Back in “Customer Service” – Because That’s Who We Work For
Let me ask you something: When was the last time an insurance company walked into your shop, handed you their keys and said, “Can you help me get my car back to safe, car worthy, pre-accident condition?” Exactly. That’s never happened.
And yet, too many shops out there still treat the insurer like they’re the customer. Well, they’re not. They never were. And the sooner we all reset that relationship, the better off this industry will be.
Here’s the thing: We’re not in the insurance business. We’re in the collision repair business. Our customer is the vehicle owner – the person who drives that car, loves that car, relies on that car. The insurer? Their legal duty is to indemnify the customer for their loss. That’s it. Nowhere in that definition does it say “negotiate repair methodology,” “set pricing” or “micromanage a repair facility’s operations from a call center in Nebraska.”
Our job is to repair the vehicle. Safely. Properly. According to OEM standards. That’s it. We are not collections agents, claims adjusters or risk-management actuaries. We are repair professionals. And that’s how we need to show up – with the customer front and center, every single time.
I know that’s easier said than done. Trust me, I run a shop just like you. We all face pressure from insurers who want to twist our roles, dictate what they’ll “allow” or pretend that some other shop down the street will do it “differently,” meaning cheaper. But here’s the good news: None of that matters when you’ve got your customer fully informed, fully empowered and fully on your side.
The path forward isn’t through more arguing with desk reviewers or begging for an additional 0.7 for a blend. It’s
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through honest, transparent conversations with the people who actually own the car. When they understand why a specific procedure is necessary or why we’re not using aftermarket parts on their vehicle, they become our allies. And when they push back on their insurer, magic happens. Sometimes it’s fast, sometimes it’s ugly – but it always starts with the customer.
So, how do we take our businesses back? Simple! We stop making decisions based on what an insurer will “cover.” Instead, we write the repair plan the car needs. We show the customer. We explain the who, what, where and why. We make it clear that our relationship is with them, not some anonymous claims portal. And if the insurer refuses to reimburse for it? That’s a problem between the policyholder and their carrier, not us.
Now, let’s be honest; this approach takes guts. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes employee buy-in. It means being willing to have hard conversations and sometimes even lose a job when the customer isn’t willing to stand up for their rights. But what is the long-term payoff? Massive change. Because when you’re known as the shop that tells the truth, the shop that puts safety first, the shop that works for the driver, the person, the family – not the insurer –you stop being just another cog in the wheel and become a real contribution to the betterment of your community. You become a trusted advocate, a real professional. The kind of shop people recommend to their friends and family, not because you’re the cheapest, but because you actually give a sh*t!!! The most amazing part of working for the customer is you CAN conduct a more
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A Bully by Any Other Name
The word “bully” might conjure images of schoolyard taunts or adolescent aggression, but bullying is alive and well in the adult world – and the collision repair industry is no exception. For decades, shop owners and technicians have contended with a more institutional form of coercion: the systematic pressure exerted by insurance companies that, at times, prioritize profit margins over professional integrity, safety and customer care. On page 36 of this issue, attorney Sean Preston wraps up his two-part series on the bullies and the tactics they use while interacting with the collision repair industry and our mutual customers.
In many industries, disagreements are settled through negotiation, collaboration or regulation. But in collision repair, shops frequently find themselves at the mercy of insurers who use their financial leverage to impose unfair labor rates, dictate repair procedures and delay or deny payment for legitimate work, all the while presenting themselves as the protectors of “Joe Consumer” and insisting they are the collision repairer’s “partner.”
This is not a balanced partnership. Instead, it often resembles a one-sided power struggle where shops are strong-armed into compliance and consumers are misled into thinking their best interests are being represented.
Over the years, we have seen how the insurance industry portrays collision repairers to the public and to their fellow repairers. We used to hear, on a consistent basis, “you’re the only one…” to the point that buttons were distributed to hundreds of shops across the state proudly proclaiming they were members of the “ONLY-ONE CLUB.”
Today, many repair facilities report they’ve been told that certain labor rates or repair methods are “non-standard” or “not reimbursable,” despite being recognized as industry best practices. They are being accused of “over-repairing a vehicle.” I, for one, am challenged to understand how such a feat can be accomplished. Shops that push back risk being removed from preferred networks or face burdensome administrative audits,
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essentially punishing those who prioritize quality and safety over cost-cutting. This is nothing more than coercion disguised as “standard practice.” These tactics aren’t just bad for business – they’re dangerous. Insurers who override OEM guidelines, or refuse to authorize proper repairs, compromise vehicle safety. Yet, shops are too often forced to choose between doing the job right and getting paid at all.
Beyond the financial squeeze, there’s a deeper toll on the men and women working in this industry. Shop owners and staff often feel like they’re constantly in a fight – just to be paid fairly, to do the right thing and to protect the public. Over time, this grind creates burnout, turnover and a growing sense of disillusionment in an industry many once entered with passion and pride. Now, at least for the insurance industry, it has become a race to the bottom-line.
The good news? Change is possible. Across the country, more collision repair professionals are banding together through associations, legislative efforts and consumer education campaigns to push back against coercive insurer behavior. Knowledge is power – and when shops understand their rights and responsibilities, they’re better positioned to advocate for themselves and their customers. Efforts like labor rate surveys, transparency in repair standards and legislative support for proper reimbursement are all part of the broader movement to neutralize the imbalance of power.
Sadly, it’s easy to forget that the customer – the vehicle owner – should be at the center of every decision. But many customers are unaware that they’re caught in a tug-of-war between insurer cost containment and shop integrity. Educating the public about their rights, including their ability to choose their repair shop, insisting on OEM repairs and demanding safe, complete repairs, is critical. When consumers are informed and empowered, it becomes harder for insurers to manipulate the process in their own favor. Informing the vehicle owner at the outset of their obligations and rights in the repair process, and of what the actual relationship is between themselves, the shop and the insurer they choose, is at the heart of the Forever Forms developed by Coverall Law’s Sean Preston. If you have not looked into the Forever Forms, I strongly encourage you to do so.
The collision repair industry is built on skill, craftsmanship and an unwavering commitment to safety. No one enters this business to be a middleman in an insurance dispute. It’s time to name the problem for what it is – bullying – and to call for accountability, fairness and mutual respect. Repair professionals deserve better; so do the customers who trust them. And the only way to change the game is to stop playing by the bully’s rules.
It’s high time to call the bully’s bluff!
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Changes & Challenges: Industry Leaders Share Survival Skills
Every day, the collision repair industry changes. Shops face a heavy load of challenges that come in many forms – from consolidation and workforce shortages to technological advances and contention with third-party payers. Yet, the need for vehicle repairs remains consistent, demanding shops keep up with the constant evolution of the industry to remain competitive and profitable. Those unwilling to put in the work to strengthen their businesses just might see their doors shuttered before long.
But what are the biggest changes and challenges facing the industry? And how can shops make sure they’re strong enough to carry the burden? New England Automotive Report sat down with Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts (AASP/ MA) Executive Director Lucky Papageorg, AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant, Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg, Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) Executive Director Jill Tuggle and AASPMN Executive Director Linden Wicklund, who weighed in on some of the biggest challenges they’re seeing in their regions and offered suggestions on how shops can build the business muscle needed to survive the onslaught.
New England Automotive Report: Although the collision repair industry continues to be in high demand, it faces a number of challenges which forces constant evolution. What do you see as the biggest changes impacting shops today?
Lucky Papageorg: The challenges in keeping up with the advances in technology because of the very low ROI when investing in training, equipment and keeping and attracting new talent to the industry.
Charles Bryant: The biggest change is the car itself and how vehicles have evolved. Today’s cars are computerized and contain tons of electronic components which need to be recalibrated after an accident, and shops need the right tools, equipment and training to do that.
Aaron Schulenburg: The obligation to perform safe and proper repairs has never been more critical – especially when it comes to structural components and safety systems designed to protect occupants. There are many external, commercial entities trying to influence what processes, parts and tools shops use, but the repair facility ultimately holds full responsibility for the decisions made during the repair. That accountability hasn’t changed, but the external pressure is increasing significantly.
Those decisions must be rooted in OEM procedures and factory information, yet we’re seeing growing resistance to proper safety inspections, adherence to repair procedures and even thirdparty service providers entering agreements with insurers that dictate pricing. Often, these agreements include end-user license terms that subtly shift liability back to the shop – it’s essential to read those closely.
At the same time, vehicle technology continues to advance rapidly, adding to repair complexity. Combine that with rising costs for materials, labor and outsourced services, and you have a perfect storm driving up the total cost of repair while putting more pressure on shops to do more with less.
Jill Tuggle: Economic changes are being felt really heavily right now. Many of us saw this coming in some regard because there were warnings, but none of us expected the way it actually showed up. Part of the problem for shops lies in insurers’ insistence on decreasing labor rates by $5 to $8 per hour which presents additional pressures in a time when claims are down and the cost of living has increased.
Linden Wicklund: The biggest disrupter for shops – both mechanical and collision – seems to be a few different things coming together to make a perfect storm: baby boomers who own a large percentage of independent shops are retiring, investment companies are buying up businesses and consumer spending habits are changing. Boomers selling at the same time that investment companies are looking to buy is an obvious threat to the share of shops remaining independent. Consumer preferences might seem a bit removed from that, but as shops are given a facelift that looks like professionalism when they are bought out, customers may increasingly see this as an improvement in quality regardless of what actually goes on in the shop.
NEAR: Many independent shops may view consolidation as a huge problem they’re forced to contend with. Why does consolidation create challenges, and how can independent operators overcome those concerns?
LP: Part of the issue regarding consolidation stems from some shop owners not knowing the true value of their business by either selling themselves short and leaving too much on the table or having truly unrealistic expectations of what they are worth. The other challenge is thinking that they have to jump on the consolidation train as their only way of surviving rather than expending the energy to make themselves unique and appealing to potential customers who do not want the big box store type of service.
CB: The biggest problem is consolidators controlling industry rates by lowballing and working on volume; it’s difficult for independent shops to compete with that. If the consolidators were smart, they would lay down the law and tell insurers ‘this is how much it takes to fix the car, period’ because they hold a large enough market share that they could make a positive impact. Until they do that, I’d urge independent shops to focus on performing quality repairs and refusing to accept the nonsense that insurance companies try to demand. After all, the insurer isn’t liable for the repairs; the shop is. Too many shops buckle to the insurer and make concessions on how they repair a car just to get the work, but the potential ramifications
aren’t worth it.
Instead, shops should educate their customers and adopt a customer pay model if the insurer refuses to compensate for necessary repairs. Non-DRP shops do not have a contract with the insurer, so the carrier can tell them to take a hike, but they cannot do that to the policyholder with whom they have an indemnity contract. Typically, a consumer who pays the difference and submits their costs to their insurer will get paid because of that contract. A lot of shops are hesitant to bill their customers because they ‘don’t want to do that to them,’ yet they’re willing to let them drive away in a potentially unsafe vehicle. Insurance companies need to get with the program and recognize the complexity of today’s cars, but until they do, shops need to stand firm in their determination to do the right thing for their customers, which means properly repairing those vehicles to their pre-accident condition following OEM guidelines.
AS: Anytime you have larger entities that are focused primarily on volume and growth, there’s often pressure to make agreements and concessions on how the repair process and claims process intersect. This can create confusion for customers who are told by some shops that certain steps aren’t needed or that others will do the job for less.
The concern around consolidation often comes from the presence of well-funded businesses that prioritize acquiring market share above all else. That can tilt the playing field. Businesses who have invested in their culture, their people, their capabilities, their communities and their commitment to the vehicle owner still have a clear path to stand out. There’s an opportunity to differentiate through commitment to process, transparency and relationships. Customers recognize and value that.
JT: Shops should recognize that consolidators rely on a completely different business model. Instead of trying to compete, they should lean into their identity as an independent shop by pushing consumer education and engaging with their local community – because they are part of that community, and MSOs cannot compete with that. Find new ways to differentiate your shop by focusing on providing a higher customer service experience and possibly seeking out those certifications that you’ve been putting off.
LW: In addition to customer perceptions, the speed of buyouts is increasing the pressure as
some shops are feeling the need to ‘get out while they can.’ The other big factor is buying power; those with national contracts can get better pricing than individual shops can. Independents need to differentiate themselves and have a clear understanding of how they can serve their customers better than the competition. The challenge is knowing what this looks like from the customer’s perspective. Badmouthing the quality of repairs coming from consolidators is not an effective strategy.
It is worth noting that consolidation is a big topic on the collision side, but it is also happening on the mechanical side. The market squeeze from national quick-service operations popping up is a clear indicator of what customers are looking for.
NEAR: Rising costs present another obstacle for shops to overcome, especially as they continue to face pecuniary pressures from third-party payers. What are the best ways for shops to clear that hurdle?
LP: BE MORE PROFESSIONAL IN THEIR APPROACH and overcome the fear...put the time in to explain what insurers are doing and why. Just as in the medical field, the vehicle owner may have to pay upfront and seek reimbursement from the insurer to be fully indemnified as per the policy they purchased. Shops have to take a stand and STOP subsidizing an industry which announces from the mountaintops how much profit they are making – profit at the expense of the vehicle owner and the collision repairer.
CB: Educate yourself. Every shop should belong to their local and national associations and take advantage of the training opportunities! Beyond that, they can simply lay the law down. It’s a joke (though it’s not funny) how insurers use the 15 percent of shops that are DRPs to control the other 85 percent, but those shops get concessions to compensate for their restrictions, which non-DRP shops don’t get, such as being able to act as the appraiser. That gives DRP shops the opportunity to adjust their hours to ensure they’re remaining profitable.
AS: The biggest issue with rising costs is when businesses fail to track them closely or adjust quickly. If you’re not actively monitoring your costs – and updating your pricing to reflect them – you’re likely already behind. Everyone involved in the repair planning and billing process needs continued on pg. 20
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
Lucky Papageorg
Charles Bryant
Jill Tuggle
Aaron Schulenburg
Linden Wicklund
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to understand and communicate real-time costs accurately. For example, if your part-code tables or pricing systems aren’t updated to reflect your charges, inflation will outpace your revenue. More responsive estimating and invoicing tools can help ensure your pricing aligns with actual costs and profit expectations. Ultimately, staying agile and informed is key.
JT: It’s more important than ever to ask good questions, present the right documentation and be willing to challenge insurers when they refuse to pay for certain operations. Shops can also make their voices heard with their local Department of Insurance and by keeping labor rate surveys, like the National AutoBody Research’s (NABR) LaborRate Hero and insurer surveys, updated with their actual door rates. This will help lay the groundwork for future fights on their behalf. In the meantime, it’s worth considering a customer co-pay model.
LW: Shops need to know their numbers: what their profit margins are on every element of a repair, how many repairs they need to be doing to cover general overhead and when to turn away certain jobs. Third party payers are a major challenge, but mechanical shops are also faced with repairs being turned down. Maybe there is more to learn from one another with that.
NEAR: Even as the number of shops dwindle due to the aforementioned issues, workforce shortages continue to plague the industry as experienced technicians near retirement and fewer young people are entering the trade. Some estimates suggest as many as 100,000 positions could be unfilled by 2026! Where can shop owners/managers find qualified talent? Are there ways for them to proactively cultivate an incoming workforce?
LP: Offering apprenticeship opportunities in their shop and getting involved with their local technical schools is a good place to start, but they also need to look outside the box and always be seeking new sources of employees, whether it is at the local fast food venue or at a store selling gaming equipment. Think outside the box!
CB: Not to keep harping on the same topic, but the labor rate is the biggest deterrent to attracting more talent to our industry. When body shops are working for $50-$55 an hour, they cannot pay someone a decent salary. Why would a young man or woman come to work in such a physically and mentally demanding job when they can make the same amount – or more! – working at Amazon? Or they can go to work at a mechanical shop and make nearly double what they could make in a body shop. Until our labor rate realistically addresses the cost of doing business and allows shops to fairly compensate workers, this problem is going to persist; we aren’t going to attract new talent into our industry.
AS: Attracting and retaining talent starts with building the right culture. Shops that only focus on hiring the next ‘A-tech’ ondemand are likely to continue struggling. The most successful businesses I’ve seen invest in developing their own people. They foster mentorship, support interdisciplinary training and create
collaborative environments where employees have a voice in shaping both process and culture. Even in tough labor markets, these shops grow and retain experienced staff.
Culture isn’t just about what happens at work – it’s also about how a business supports its people outside of work. Do they offer strong benefits? Are they helping create better financial planning? Do they provide flexible scheduling that respects work-life balance? These things matter. As an association, SCRS has been working to provide tools and resources – such as our 401(k) resource (scrs.com/401k) or healthcare insurance (scrsbenefitscenter. decisely.com) which help our members become better employers in this regard.
JT: It starts with keeping a good culture for the employees that shops already have, which includes creating incentives that encourage employees to help with efforts to grow their own talent. Because consolidators have different resources that often allow them an edge, smaller shops need to lean into their identity by engaging in their local community, getting to know people and seeking out opportunities to attract more young people to the industry – whether that be by partnering with local schools or simply developing relationships with neighbors and friends which might give them an opportunity to learn that someone they know is seeking a new position.
Shops can also embrace some of the more technologically advanced methods for finding talent, such as bodyshopjobs.com, which was created specifically to help independent shops find employees.
LW: This is an interesting question because in the past 18 months, I have had so many shops say this is no longer an issue, yet the numbers clearly suggest a major shift is coming. The conversation has gone from not being able to find anyone to there being enough entry level people, but too few people with advanced skills. Replacing a top-level performer with a top-level performer is not easily done unless the shop is promoting someone internally. Shops need to pay close attention to retention. Sending a B-tech to host a table at a career fair might be just the thing to give them a sense of pride in the work they are doing and pay off even more than picking up some student names. MNCARS has resources shops can use when visiting a tech school. Being on a school advisory board builds direct relationships with faculty, which is a great way to get leads on new graduates. Techs need clear growth pathways at every level of their careers.
NEAR: For many, advancing vehicle technologies (ADAS, EVs, AI and even OEM certification) are cost-prohibitive as they simply cannot afford to invest in specialized tools, equipment and training. On the other hand, shops that have made those investments have seen growth. How can advancing technology benefit shops, and what advice would you offer to shops that are reluctant to ‘make the leap?’
LP: It is a hard decision, which takes a ‘leap of faith.’ I recommend looking to leaders in the industry who have already taken the leap
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This year, as Albert Kemperle Inc. celebrates its 83rd anniversary, BASF also celebrates its 158th anniversary. We are proud of our decades of partnership with BASF and years of serving the auto paint and body industry together. Kemperle’s founders would be proud of this relationship and the growth their company has experienced because of it.
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Auto body shop owners in Massachusetts have been waiting a very long time to have a say in the decades-long debate over what a fair and reasonable labor reimbursement rate should look like in the Commonwealth. Plagued with the lowest labor rate in the country – only hovering at about $44 with barely any increase since 1988 when it was $30 – Massachusetts collision repairers didn’t hesitate to close up their shops to make the trek to Boston on June 12 to finally have a chance to be heard by the Auto Body Labor Rate Advisory Board (ABLRAB), which was created to meet, study and review labor reimbursement rates to make recommendations to the Division of Insurance (DOI).
After waiting years to have a seat at the table, the AASP/MA community-atlarge came to the Capitol to unleash their frustrations and challenges associated with trying to keep their businesses – and the
industry – alive on a labor rate that has been so largely stomped on by the insurance industry that one can practically see the wear and tear on their shoes!
The ABLRAB public hearing was the first – and only – opportunity for the general auto body community to come forth to testify in front of the Board to study and make recommendations for a labor rate that fairly reimburses consumers and actually allows for safe and proper repairs.
Body shop owner after body shop owner, along with technicians and even one very wise young recently graduated vocational school student, came forth to drive home the point that this is a matter of life and death for the future of collision repair
Before testimony officially began, members of the Board – which includes three collision repair professional representatives appointed by AASP/MA, insurance industry representatives and others on behalf of
consumers, economists and others – offered opening remarks.
“We have spent a lot of time away from our shops on this issue,” stated Rick Starbard (Rick’s Auto Collision; Revere), who serves on the Board on behalf of AASP/MA. “We know the labor rate has been increasingly low since 1988 when insurance reform took effect. Since that time, year after year, we have tried bill after bill to seek relief. I served on a commission in 2008 where findings were to direct legislators to take action if the rate didn’t move within a year of the easement of cost containment. Those rates didn’t move. Another commission formed a couple of years later; again, nothing happened. Here we are, 17 years after the first commission. Hopefully, we get resolution to this problem while we still have an industry.”
Upon taking the microphone, Board member Christopher Stark (Massachusetts Insurance Federation) instantly made
jaws drop with remarks that he’d later be called out for by one shop owner and other witnesses who slammed back at him for trying to alter the focus of the true issue at hand, even though Stark’s steering move was perhaps not out of character as a representative from the insurance industry.
Stark claimed, “Contrary to what you’ll hear, Massachusetts is not even the lowest cost repair state [nationwide], or even in New England, and we definitely do not have the lowest labor cost for repairs, which illustrates that the difference of experience in Massachusetts statutory and regulatory scope over the last 40 years required insurers to think beyond the labor rate calculations to ensure our auto body industry remains fairly compensated.”
He tried to convince an audience of auto body professionals – who deal with insurance representatives refusing to negotiate in most cases – that “today’s repair industry is already well positioned to negotiate fair rates directly with insurers based on market supply, demand and business sophistication” and implied that one legislatively-mandated rate would be “anti-competitive,” insisting a one-size-fits-all rate would not work for shops that don’t perform high-quality work and that repair mandates and adjudicated pricing mechanisms in Rhode Island are “increasing repair disputes, delayed claim resolutions and value friction between insurers and repairers.”
Stark ignited sparks by closing with: “I know we are going to hear about insurance rates a lot today, so I just want to be clear on the data from the outset that the premium increases as recorded from the National Association of Insurance Commission, or $820 in 1989 and $1,251 in average Hawaiian premium in 2022 that is the last available year that we have [recorded]. This shows how hard insurers have worked to keep long term rates below CPI increases. By those numbers, we have already achieved parity from the $30 labor rate in 1989.”
In the state of Massachusetts, one can get their bike fixed for $118.33 on average or a small engine fixed for an average of $109 per hour, “but the insurance industry expects us to fix cars for $40 or $50 an hour,” Gary Cloutier (Cloot’s Auto Body; Westfield) illustrated to the Board. “Right over the border in Connecticut, which is 15 miles away from me, the exact same companies that write policies in both states are paying Connecticut shops $20 to $30 more per hour, and they’re not fixing cars any different in Enfield [Connecticut] than they are in
Westfield or Springfield or anywhere else in Massachusetts.”
An electrician can get their license and initial equipment and are set up for life unless they need to replace something that breaks, “but the equipment that we have to maintain and constantly update is way more than any electrician or plumber will ever have. Electricity never changes; it’s the same from California to Cape Cod. Plumbers –clean water in, dirty water out. It’s not that hard. I have to be a body man, a frame man, [deal with] suspension, electronics, air bags. The list is five miles long. I wear a lot of hats and you’re expecting me to do all this for next to nothing?
“No one is going into this trade anymore because there is no money in it,” Cloutier added, because “insurance companies have squeezed and squeezed to the point where people are dropping like flies and shops are closing left and right. Yet, all the people at the top of the insurance industry are paying themselves real nice wages, aren’t they? In 1999, Sanford Wheel, CEO of Travelers
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Georgetown), whose shop is only sevenand-a-half miles from the New Hampshire border where he believes the rate is about $55 to $60 per hour, expressed his dismay over the discrepancy. “We’re all repairing the same cars, and we’re all buying from the same suppliers; yet, we have to accept a lower rate.”
AASP/MA Lobbyist Guy Glodis spoke to the Board as a former legislator and former chair of insurance, a position he served in 2003 and 2004 when the biggest issue at that time was “the same issue that we’re talking about today, about how grossly underpaid the auto body technicians are in Massachusetts! I can go to a bicycle shop and pay $60 or $70 an hour to fix my bike, and the fact that the insurance industry only wants to give, on average, $44 is incredulous!”
Glodis challenged Stark for his earlier comments. “We can get into arguments, Mr. Stark, about whether or not we’re the lowest paid in the country or the second lowest paid,” directing his next challenge to Board Chairman Michael Powers as he professed,“We’re very, very low paid, and
Group, made $400 million, with a $50 million stock option, and in 2000, he made $537 million – that was 25 years ago! But you expect all of us to live on crumbs!?” He says being told “we’re paying you enough but we’re paying people in Connecticut more” can not continue.
“Would you be willing to take your vehicle to a body shop that didn’t have any training, that couldn’t provide ADAS research or didn’t have the proper equipment?” Jeff White (North Andover Auto Body; North Andover) queried. “At the end of the day, it’s not really about the body shops. This is about the consumer and the safety of the consumer. If we don’t get paid properly to repair these vehicles, it’s eventually going to result in loss of life or all kinds of problems that none of us really want to happen. We’re all here to do the right thing by the consumer, and I think we have to work together to do it.”
JR Force (Repairs Unlimited;
the price to do business in Massachusetts is almost triple what it is in most states, second only to Hawaii. It’s more expensive to operate a business in Massachusetts than it is in California. If insurance reform was done by the general court and we kept up with a consumer price index, the people sitting behind me would be getting paid in the triple digits.”
The room exploded into applause when Glodis lashed out, “And one thing that is insulting to me, Mr. Chairman, is when I hear the insurance industry say they can’t afford it and they’re fighting for the consumers. What a bunch of BS that is when they had the most record profitability during COVID. This is well documented, including what Massachusetts insurance carriers did. Did these guys get a little bit of a bump? None!”
He challenged the insurance industry’s
continued on pg. 30
Massachusetts collision repair professionals filled the room for the ABLRAB public hearing at the Capitol.
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cries of “We can’t afford it” asking, “Well, when can you afford it? These people deserve a good pay for a good day’s work, and it’s not just about consumer protection. It’s about public safety. The shops are responsible, not the insurance companies. When somebody gets into an accident because of shoddy work, it’s because the greedy insurance people don’t want to pay them what they deserve to be paid!” Glodis begged them to do the right thing and give them a significant increase – “not a little dollar here and there, how insulting! Bring them up to what they should be paid, compared to the region, and compared to the trade, and compared to all of the mandates that they have to do with training and technical equipment. They’re just asking for good, fair pay to keep their industry alive and to do the right thing by the consumers.”
John Buccheri (North Shore Auto Body; Danvers) called the current reimbursement rate situation “increasingly unsustainable,” and he lamented, it’s “driving away our future workforce,” adding that his shop just hired one of the last auto body program graduates from Essex North Shore Agriculture and Technical School as the program is shutting down after 2026.
Instead of looking toward a future of promise, collision repair students are instead faced with watching careers die before even having a chance to get started.
“Last year, we found out the collision repair program would close after the class of 2026 due to the high cost of operation and the lack of interest,” Alicia Soltys of North Shore Auto Body stated. This also meant her beloved instructor and mentor who encouraged her and helped her “venture into what is predominantly a male-dominated
field” was let go from the school and “would not be asked back to teach his final graduating class of 2026. After over 4,500 students passed through his doors, he will not be able to see his last class of only six out into the world.”
“I come before you, not just as a technician myself, but as someone who has built a life in this industry, who has mentored young technicians and who has watched the trade suffer not from a lack of passion or skill, but from a system that refuses to value the work that we do,” shared McColl Rhodes (Nesco Sales; Bondsville). She’s continuously watching young technicians leave the profession including “a post-secondary technical school student who quit to bartend for the money. Please let that sink in. We lost a future technician to a bar stool because it pays more.”
AASP/MA Vice President Douglas Begin (Vendetti Motors; Franklin) urged, “Massachusetts must take action to correct this injustice. Artificially low reimbursable rates fall on the very people who serve our customers. They expect and deserve proper repairs to restore their vehicle safely. But when insurance carriers fail to reimburse at fair rates, we are left with no choice but to either resolve the loss or pass the cost onto the vehicle owner. This situation is fundamentally unfair and undermines consumer trust.”
Retired body shop owner and devoted labor rate advocate, Jack Lamborghini, wasted no time addressing Stark’s opening comments. Testifying virtually, Lamborghini stated, “First of all, Mr. Stark, what a wonderful opening statement you made today. You are the epitome of ‘figures lie and liars figure.’ You have shown that you can confuse
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continued from pg. 20
for guidance and information. Turn to your local and national associations for training. Get involved. Attend meetings and seminars, and join a 20 group. Look to great industry consultants like Mike Anderson of Collision Advice…do not get trapped in a silo!
CB: If a shop owner is reluctant to make an investment in advancing technology, it’s time to go work at a bakery or do something else because embracing technology isn’t coming in the future, and it’s not an option. It’s happening now, and it’s necessary. If a shop is fixing cars without investing in the tools, equipment and training to deal with current technology, they have no place in this industry. It’s not possible to correctly fix these cars without making those investments!
AS: If you’re repairing today’s vehicles, you really have two options: invest in the training, tools and equipment to do the job right, or partner with another facility that has.
Modern vehicles are highly complex. Safe, proper repairs require the correct equipment, knowledge and environment. Anything less is simply not an acceptable alternative. Shops that have made these investments often see significant growth – not just in capability, but also in trust, reputation and market position. For those hesitant to invest, start by building partnerships or specializing in what you can support. But ultimately, aligning with advancing technology isn’t optional – it’s essential for long-term survival.
JT: Networking with other shops that have gone through that journey is really important, and that’s where your local state associations come in. A lot of markets struggle with feeling like they’re talking to competitors, but when you’re part of the association, you realize that we’re all on the same team; you can call the guy down the street to talk about what you’re considering, and he can share his successes and shortfalls. That also provides an opportunity to differentiate your shop by seeking out different avenues. Seek advice from wise industry professionals who aren’t trying to sell you on a specific path, those you are willing to simply help you weigh your options. And always pay attention to the type of person you’re talking to; you’ll get the best advice from those who are trying to unite the industry versus those seeking to create division.
LW: The real question here is how many repairs are not being done in full because shops don’t have the procedures in place or don’t even know where to start with identifying all of the repairs that need doing. Once what needs to be done is identified, then it needs to be sold to the customer, and then done in a way that turns a profit. Outsourcing and building relationships with other shops can make a big difference in retaining customers while not jumping into more than a shop is ready for. Shops need to understand how widespread these technologies are and that they are likely already working on vehicles that need these sorts of repairs, and they just aren’t doing them.
NEAR: They say that ‘only the strong survive’ – do you think that’s true when it comes to collision shops in the current environment? With so many changes coming at lightning speed, how can shops strengthen their positions to ensure they are among those that survive the evolution of the industry?
LP: Strength has to come from within, but know that you cannot do it alone. There are resources out there, and the ‘strong’ have set great examples of how to survive and get better, so you do not have to reinvent the wheel...find out how others have succeeded and do what they did!
CB: The strong survive, but strength doesn’t have to be individual. Join together. Create a strong network. Our industry needs more unity; we need to create a community among the shops that are willing to fight for our industry. We need to come together as a team that will stand together to do what’s right not just for our businesses but also for the customers who are counting on us to make sure their vehicles are safe to drive when they leave our shops. We are always going to be stronger collectively than any one of us can be alone.
AS: If it’s true that ‘only the strong survive,’ it’s worth considering how strength is formed. True strength isn’t something we simply have; it’s something we build, often slowly, from the repeated act of showing up and pushing through resistance. But I think it’s fair to say that the process is accelerated — and made more sustainable — when you are surrounded by others. A strong and supportive community can help challenge your blind spots, celebrate your growth and share resources, perspectives and wisdom you couldn’t access on your own. I like to think the associations in our industry offer these types of communities and opportunities for growth, accountability and vision.
I’d encourage shops to do more than just seek survival in your business; seek belonging, and be a part of something bigger than the four walls of your business!
JT: The strong certainly survive, but consider how you define strength. Does ‘strong’ encompass having a good business acumen, a marketing mind or something more? I believe being well-rounded is the most important component to strengthening your shop, and that begins with educating yourself to understand all the opportunities that exist within this industry and embracing what makes the most sense for your individual business.
LW: Nimble can beat brute strength. In Japan, fabric buildings are often used instead of metal buildings in areas susceptible to storms, particularly tsunamis. The buildings’ fabric shell washes away, but the foundation and frame are unharmed and ready to quickly be recovered with a new fabric shell. I don’t know what the version of this is for shops, but I’m very certain there are independent shops who know how to think like this. They know what is not important and can be sacrificed versus what is critical for thriving even after the worst the world can throw at them.
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The People’s Billion-Dollar Bully – Part Two How Insurers Took the Little Guy’s Side to Beat Him Down
Author’s Note: Catching Up on the Fight
If you missed Part One of this series (grecopublishing. com/near0725legalperspective/), we traced the roots of claim suppression back decades – starting with a 1952 Massachusetts court ruling that severed any promise of profitability from premium regulation, followed by Warren Buffett’s praise of insurance “float” as a financial powerhouse, and culminating in McKinsey & Co.’s reengineering of claims handling into a strategy of delay, denial and diminished payouts. We showed how these forces fused into an industry standard – one that reframed insurers not as fiduciaries, but as cost managers cloaked in consumer-friendly slogans.
Part Two picks up where that foundation leaves off: at the collision shop’s door. We examine how modern advertising has commoditized the insurance product, shifting competitive pressure to the claims side – and how that pressure is weaponized against the very shops and policyholders the system claims to protect. From lowball “visual appraisals” to endless supplement hurdles, we dive into how today’s claim suppression tactics grind down repairers and consumers alike. And we end with a challenge: to stop pretending this system is supposedly broken, and start confronting it for what it is – working exactly as designed.
Commoditized by Advertising: A Race to the Bottom Insurance companies no longer compete on service, coverage or policy terms. They compete on a single axis: price. The contemporary insurance marketplace has been transformed by an unrelenting arms race in advertising, where slogans promise to save “15 percent or more” and switching takes “only 15 minutes.” In this sea of sameness, where policies are nearly indistinguishable, the only meaningful cost differentiator left is the one insurers have the most control over: how much they pay out in claims.
“When the product is indistinguishable, the only place to compete is cost – and that means paying out less,” insurance
analysts have noted. With rates often controlled by state regulation or market equilibrium, insurers can’t raise prices at will. Instead, they turn inward, seeking profitability through reduced loss ratios and cost efficiency – which in practice often translates to claim suppression. This isn’t theoretical. It’s the natural economic progression of commoditization.
Advertising data supports this pivot. GEICO, State Farm, Progressive and Allstate have spent billions each year jockeying for brand awareness. Progressive’s advertising expenditure alone hit a record high of nearly $3.5 billion in 2024, even as others like Allstate slashed their ad budgets by 31 percent in 2023. For GEICO, the nation’s largest auto insurer for a time, advertising was once its greatest asset. But as ad returns diminish and customer acquisition costs rise, the shift toward claims cost containment has become even more pronounced.
This model is inherently extractive. In a commoditized marketplace, price is king – but someone has to pay for those savings. The customer, of course, ends up footing the bill in another way: through undervalued vehicles, denied repairs and inadequate settlements. The rise in repair complexity and costs only exacerbates the problem. As vehicles become more advanced, so do the stakes of cutting corners on claims. Yet, even as the average cost per claim rises due to technological sophistication and labor shortages, many insurers continue to cap or challenge legitimate expenses in an effort to protect profit margins.
It’s a race to the bottom, and the victim isn’t the insurer – it’s the policyholder. The ad-driven illusion of competition conceals a chilling truth: all roads lead to minimized payouts. This industry has commoditized not just the product, but the people it promises to protect. The result? Shops remain under pressure, consumers are left with partial repairs or out-of-pocket losses, and a billion-dollar industry continues to market itself as the underdog – even as it crushes the very individuals it claims to serve.
Populist Branding, Predatory Behavior
Insurers today present themselves as defenders of the little guy – ever-vigilant against fraud, inflated invoices and unscrupulous lawyers. Their commercials, lobbyists and even claims representatives all parrot the same line: “We’re just trying to protect our customers.” But when you look behind the slogans, what you find is an industry that’s less watchdog, more wolf –with policyholders and the repairers who serve them cast as prey.
Collision repair shops know this better than anyone. They’ve long been subject to slow-pay tactics and death-by-a-thousandcuts negotiations. One of the most egregious insurer practices today is the so-called “visual appraisal” – a drive-by estimate that ignores structural and hidden damage. It’s not a serious effort to understand the repair – it’s a pretext to start low. Shops are then forced to submit supplement after supplement – often as many as six – each time bringing the appraiser back to approve just one or two more line items. The goal is clear: wear down the shop until it gives up on the last five to 10 percent of the bill. Those unreimbursed procedures don’t just disappear – they’re absorbed by the shop or worse – skipped entirely.
The consequences aren’t just economic – they’re structural. I spoke with one repairer who described how a job stretched over five months while waiting for a factory bumper. The program shop had already disassembled the vehicle, replaced the part and was preparing to finalize the repairs when the insurer stepped in and declared the vehicle a total loss. The twist? The same
insurer had covered the vehicle since it was new and now used its extended repair timeline as an excuse to deny coverage outright. Five months wasted. Full coverage ignored. The “trusted” insurance partner vanished when it was time to pay.
This is the daily reality for body shops and policyholders alike. During our development of the Forever Forms, I asked one shop owner what it was like negotiating with insurers before Coverall Law. His response was painfully honest: “What negotiation?” Insurers weren’t engaging – they were dictating. Recently, I visited several Cape Cod shops who admitted they didn’t know if they’d be profitable this month. The uncertainty isn’t just financial – it’s existential.
Insurers claim they’re fending off fraud and waste. But too often, it’s the legitimate claims – the honest shops, the policyholders with full coverage – that get bled out. “Insurers say they’re defending the customer,” I often say, “but they fight tooth and nail against making that customer whole.” This isn’t oversight – it’s exploitation disguised as stewardship.
Collision Shops: Profitless in the Shadows
While insurers regularly tout record revenues and billiondollar portfolios – thanks in part to disciplined underwriting and buoyant investment returns – the outlook for collision repair shops tells a much darker story. These shops, often family-run and locally rooted, are navigating a gauntlet of rising costs, continued on pg. 38
shrinking margins and adversarial insurer relationships. Many of my member shops can’t say with confidence whether they’ll finish the month in the black. Some go week to week, project to project, unsure if the next vehicle through the bay door will pay fairly – or push them further into the red.
This is not coincidence; it’s by design. In the insurer’s claims ecosystem, collision shops are the weakest link in the chain – the final vendor, the easiest to squeeze, the last defense between a cost-saving claims department and a repaired vehicle. “Squeezethe-vendor” strategies target shops precisely because they lack the financial insulation and legal firepower of national carriers. By underpaying labor rates, dragging out supplement approvals and demanding exhaustive documentation for standard procedures, insurers apply slow pressure until many shops simply give in – or give up.
Operational costs alone are enough to sink the unprepared. Inflation has driven up the cost of everything from aluminum panels to adhesive compounds. Shops are forced to invest in increasingly expensive equipment to keep pace with ADAS, electric vehicle technologies and complex vehicle construction. OEM certification, once a badge of quality, is now a financial burden – requiring dedicated training, tools and exclusive parts procurement that many small operators can barely afford.
Labor challenges compound the problem. With a nationwide
shortage of skilled technicians, shops must offer more competitive wages and benefits to attract or retain talent. Yet, many insurers still push reimbursement rates that don’t even reflect current market compensation, let alone recognize the specialized knowledge required to handle today’s cars. Add in delays in payment, unreasonable part substitutions and a constant need to resubmit and rejustify work that’s already been performed, and it’s clear: this is not a marketplace. It’s a gauntlet.
Some insurers are even leveraging the digital transformation of claims to widen the imbalance. Virtual estimating tools and AI-based image capture may improve efficiency for carriers, but they do little to ensure repair accuracy – and often become a new pretext for denying or delaying payments. Meanwhile, the cycle times for repairs are ballooning due to supply chain issues and parts delays, straining cash flow and client relationships at independent shops across the country.
The situation is untenable. While insurers maintain profit through diversification, investment portfolios, and financial engineering, body shops have only one business model: fix the car right, get paid fairly, and do it again tomorrow. But in today’s system, that simple goal is increasingly out of reach. For too many shops, especially independents, profitability is no longer the baseline – it’s the battleground.
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PRESENTS
Join Reliable Automotive Equipment’s Dave Gruskos for conversations with industry leaders sharing their insights and the latest from the world of certified collision repair. This month, Dave sits down with Mike Anderson of Collision Advice.
Certified Collision Repair Q&A With: MIKE ANDERSON COLLISION ADVICE
Dave Gruskos: In your experience, what would you say are the biggest advantages to a repair facility obtaining OEM certification?
Mike Anderson: First of all, with the European manufacturers, the restricted parts sales certainly help to drive more work, which is always a good thing. Another benefit is getting listed on the OEM shop locators. Recently, we’ve seen OEMs like General Motors, BMW, Honda and Acura rolling out things like accident assistance apps, which will also drive more work to certified shops. Another advantage is the access to training; some OEMs even include free subscriptions to their OEM repair procedures, and training on how to properly navigate those. Obviously, if training helps your staff improve their skill set and they become more efficient and knowledgeable, hopefully that results in positive outcomes for the business as well. A lot of people think that if they just get OEM certified, all this work will come to their door. You’ve got to know how to leverage it and how to market it; it doesn’t happen organically. You have to put the work in.
DG: What are some common misconceptions you see among shops regarding the necessity of specific OEM required tools and equipment?
MA: I often see where a shop will go out and buy equipment and then apply for the OEM certification, and they’re not aware of the fact that, sometimes, OEM equipment has to be purchased from a specific vendor. I always tell people, before you go out and buy equipment, do the research; learn which equipment is going to have the most OEM certification requirements. With some OEMs, their equipment requirements are step-based. Others require a very specific brand, or a very specific vendor. I think it’s just always important to do your research before you make any purchasing decisions. Service, support and training are also very important. A lot of the misconceptions are where people just think that all equipment is approved. It will vary based on the OEM, and you’ve got to be careful who you buy from.
ABOUT MIKE
As one of the most knowledgeable people in his field, Mike Anderson is a sought-after speaker, author and consultant. A former owner of multiple collision repair centers in Alexandria, VA, Mike currently owns and operates Collision Advice, an industry research, reference and consulting business. He also serves as a facilitator for Axalta’s highly recognized Business Council 20 Groups in both the US and Canada, as well as independent 20 groups through Collision Advice, and facilitates numerous courses for Axalta, Toyota, Nissan and other OEMs.
DG: Can you share any strategies for shops to effectively balance the investment in pursuing or maintaining OEM certification versus ongoing responsibilities in other areas of the business?
MA: I’ve seen it happen, unfortunately, where shops will go and pursue all these OEM certifications, spending all this money on training and equipment, and next thing you know, they’ve overextended themselves financially. I think you have to be very intentional with what you do. You’ve got to understand at the beginning whether you’re going to lease the equipment, buy it outright, or finance it; you’ve got to know what that payment is going to be, and make sure you’re budgeting for that as well as additional expenses. I always like to build out a pro forma: If I’m going to spend X on training and Y for my technician to travel and Z for equipment, maybe I’ve got to assess my labor rates to ensure we get the ROI. Make sure you’re taking into account the financial implications on your business, which includes managing cash flow and things of that nature.
DG: What advice do you have for navigating potential conflicts between OEM procedures and insurer pushback?
MA: It 100 percent starts with educating the consumer. I just think that is so critical. You can’t just say that you’re going to spend five or 10 minutes with a consumer. I think you’ve got to be spending 45 minutes to an hour with a consumer. It really is about not only educating them, but educating them in a way that they understand it. There is nothing better than a well informed customer and involving the customer in all your communications or discussions with the third party payer.
Mike Anderson Collision Advice
[LEGAL] PERSPECTIVE
continued from pg. 38
Conclusion: This System Is Working as Designed
The greatest misconception about the insurance industry is that it’s broken. It’s not. It’s functioning exactly as designed. From the moment Massachusetts’ highest court told insurers they were responsible for their own profits, through the era of McKinsey’s cost-cutting gospel, to today’s marketplace of interchangeable ads and interchangeable policies, the system has evolved with one central goal: maximize shareholder return by minimizing what’s paid to the people who file claims. What’s sold as protection is, in reality, a cost-control enterprise wrapped in customer-friendly branding.
Insurers have mastered the optics of advocacy. They paint themselves as defenders of the policyholder, even as they lowball, delay and deny those same individuals behind closed doors. They celebrate innovation when it accelerates appraisals but balk at paying for OEM procedures or safe, proper repairs. They pour billions into marketing while collision shops are asked to work for yesterday’s rates and make tomorrow’s technology work on a shoestring.
We cannot keep pretending this is just a misunderstanding or a glitch. It is a system structured to serve capital, not customers. Legal professionals, repairers and consumers must stop expecting fairness from a machine built for margins. We must meet force with strategy – through legal advocacy, regulatory engagement
[PRESIDENT’S] MESSAGE
continued from pg. 6
successful business on any scale.
Look, we all got into this industry because we love fixing cars. We love solving problems. We love handing someone their keys and seeing that look of relief and happiness that says, “Thank you. I didn’t know who to trust, and you took care of me.” That’s why we do it. Not because some actuary hands an executive a spreadsheet that states in Massachusetts we’re worth $43/hour.
Let’s get back to that. Let’s remind ourselves – and each other – that the power has always been in our hands. We just forgot for a while. But let’s get back to that NOW!
So, here’s my challenge to you: Next time a customer walks in, start the conversation with this line – “I work for you.” See what happens. Educate them. Empower them. Explain the process. Show them what safe, quality repairs actually require. And let them decide how to proceed with their insurer.
If we all do that, shop by shop, customer by customer, we’ll start to rebuild this industry from the inside out. No regulation or reimbursement recommendation from some advisory board can do that for us. But we can. And we will.
Let’s get back to fixing cars. Let’s get back to working for the customer. Set your price and charge it.
And if a desk reviewer calls you and asks why you charged for a weld test panel, or for additional blend time, or repackaging and returning the junk parts they prescribed to your customer’s vehicle, just tell them you’re happy to explain…right after they send you a signed authorization to act on behalf of the policyholder.
and, most importantly, refusing to play the game on their terms.
At Coverall Law, we’ve built tools like the Forever Forms to help shops document, fight back and reclaim the ground they’ve been told they don’t deserve. But forms alone aren’t enough. This industry needs collision professionals who know their worth, consumers who demand to be made whole and lawmakers willing to see past the slogans and into the spreadsheets.
The boxing gloves are already on. It’s time to stop taking hits and start landing some of our own blows.
Coverall Law Managing Attorney Sean Preston finished in the top of his law school class at the historic Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC after serving in the United States Army. He went on to excel in business and legal strategy, serving some of the world's most recognizable brands in neighboring industries. Sean recently returned from Berlin, Germany with his family (where he served in Rolls-Royce's General Counsel function) and today resides in Wareham, MA, where he helps to oversee and meaningfully lead efforts in the region for Coverall Law. He can be reached at (508) 635-5329 or via email at spreston@coveralllaw.com.
Work for the customer that sits in that vehicle, the customer that straps in the car seats in the back seat of that vehicle, the customer that commutes to work in that vehicle. No matter what your relationship is with the insurer, good or bad, contract or independent, remember who you repair that car for. The customer.
an issue to the max. I hope nobody there allows Mr. Stark to confuse the issue. Our labor rate is low – too low, way too low. I also find it interesting that there are no rank and file members of the insurance industry here to testify. I would dare the insurers up there to bring all of your appraisers in and let them testify one by one. But you’d have to put them under oath, because every one of them knows that the labor rate is ridiculously low and completely insufficient to sustain a collision repair business in today’s environment.
“I spent 48 years in the auto body industry and 46 of those fighting for a fair labor rate,” Lamborghini continued his plight. He believes members of the Board who represent the insurance side know how low the rate is but won’t admit it “because they’re all going to be protective of their jobs, their careers or the insurance companies. So, we can sit here and listen to absolute BS from Mr. Stark, and you can’t try to tell me that there is a difference between Massachusetts and Connecticut, New Hampshire or New York… the labor rate is the labor rate is the labor rate, and you suppressed it tremendously over the last 30-plus years.”
Sarah Mazzaferro (Custom Auto Body; East Longmeadow) cited the unfairness of higher labor rates in neighboring states while Massachusetts has a higher cost of living. “We are expected to survive on a rate frozen in time, dictated unilaterally by insurers. There is no real negotiation, no transparency, no accountability. Instead, we’re handed numbers based on internal surveys that use cherry picked DRP or contract shops willing to work for less, essentially saying that if one shop is willing to work for garbage, the rest of you should be grateful all you’re doing is starving.”
It’s killing small business, she continued, as it “directly cripples our ability to grow” keeping shops from being able to afford necessary equipment, offer competitive wages and invest in training for certifications.
The ABLRAB was expected to meet at the end of July to begin analysis of the body shop labor rate survey results which was conducted in June and July. To view the full June 12 public hearing, visit bit.ly/ABLRABhearing061225
