According to the latest “Who Pays for What?” survey, collision repair facilities are increasingly billing for — and being paid for — protecting vehicle interior.

Repairs to electric vehicles often require the removal of seats and other interior parts that need to be protected during repairs, but many other jobs also require protecting the vehicle interior or parts from welding or grinding sparks, etc.

The “Who Pays for What?” surveys over seven years continue to find an increasing percentage of shops are billing for — and being paid — for this procedure by the eight largest auto insurers.

Back in 2016 when Collision Advice and CRASH Network first asked in their “Who Pays for What?” survey about the labor to protect the vehicle interior or parts during repairs, nearly a third of shops (32%) said they had never billed for it. This year, that percentage has been cut nearly in half, with only 18% of shops reporting they have not charged for the labor for this step.

Among those shops that have billed for it, more than half (55%, up from 43% in 2016) say they’re paid for that procedure “always” or “most of the time,” and more than one in four others (28%) say they’re paid at least “some of the time.”

The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey is now open through the month of July. It focuses on “not-included” frame and mechanical labor operations. Shops can take the survey here.

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.

Mike Anderson of Collision Advice said the survey, which has been streamlined to require less than 15 minutes, can be completed by anyone in a shop familiar with the 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.