On May 11, National AutoBody Research (NABR) published its initial results and findings from its recent nationwide launch of the VRS Procedures & Practices Survey. Read the full report titled, “Get Paid For The Work You Do,” on the NABR website.
Introduced in early April 2015, the research sought to measure how often shops got paid for several non-included procedures and how well insurers paid for those.
“For some time, we’ve heard stories from shops about performing work but not getting paid for it,” said Sam Valenzuela, president of NABR. “This research helps put real data and documentation around those stories, which we find to be largely true. Soon, with this data and documentation built into the Variable Rate System, the VRS will help pull back the curtain on what is really happening in the industry – how shops bill for procedures and which insurers pay for what. It will help level the playing field for all shops across the country, enabling them to get paid for the work they do.”
Among other findings, when it comes to procedures, the research revealed several opportunities for improvement for both shops and insurers.
For shops, opportunities for improvement include:
- fundamentally changing their belief system from “I can’t get paid for that” to “Yes, I can and will get paid for the work I do”
- writing more of the work they perform on the estimate
- utilizing more documentation to get paid
- and improved profits (the biggest opportunity)
Even when they don’t get paid for it, many shops perform non-included procedures anyway and incur the cost. Now, by getting paid, that money will go straight to the bottom line.
According to NABR, insurers do, in fact, pay some shops for non-included procedures, yet they do so inconsistently, paying one shop for a procedure but not paying another shop for the same work, even if both shops are in the same market. The insurers’ major opportunity for improvement is in paying shops for work that is truly performed and paying shops more consistently.
The VRS Procedures & Practices Survey remains available online at the NABR website: www.nationalautobodyresearch.com/procedures-survey.html.
NABR is currently gathering documentation from shops nationwide of supporting documentation of paid non-included procedures, which it claims will further enable shops to consistently charge and collect for the work they perform. Documents may include but are not limited to estimates, paid invoices, checks, as well as claim numbers. Shops interested in adding their documents to the independent VRS online library can contact NABR via the company’s website.
More information:
National AutoBody Research Launches Nationwide Procedures Survey
National AutoBody Research Launches Ray Gunder Real-Time Labor Rate Survey
