Mike Anderson of Collision Advice recently debuted a brand-new course, “Scanning Best Practices,” in front of a large audience at the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) 42nd Annual NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show in Secaucus, N.J.

Anderson’s new seminar was designed to address the demand from shops all over the country who have been reaching out to him to discuss how difficult it has been to get paid by insurers to perform pre- and post-repair scans despite having position statements from various manufacturers to prove they need to perform this critical procedure. The course covered how to overcome common insurer objections, key search terms to use in OEM repair procedures, differences between OEM and aftermarket scan tools, available industry resources and what the future will hold for telematics.

“I am of the belief, based on my experience, that it is absolutely impossible to write an accurate damage analysis on a vehicle without doing a pre-repair scan,” said Anderson, stressing that there is no good reason to ever avoid this critical procedure.

Anderson also revealed results of the “Who Pays for What?” national industry surveys conducted by Collision Advice in conjunction with CRASH Network, which showed that shop rates for scanning are “across the board,” causing a lack of consistency in the field.

Later at NORTHEAST, Anderson presented, “Write it Right, with Life Nuggets to Live By,” a discussion detailing rules for more successful negotiations and tools that enable shops to better capture not-included items.

These courses were part of the Collision Professional Repairer Education Program (Collision P.R.E.P.) educational series presented by the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) in conjunction with AASP/NJ.

“Mike’s seminars are both hugely informative as well as inspirational,” said Jordan Hendler, executive director of WMABA. “Even if you just came for the details or meat of the meeting, the dessert – if you will – is being able to leave refreshed and reinvigorated in your strategies. His understanding of repairer issues, and giving them transparency in his ingenious ways, leads people to make changes they may have otherwise been scared of. The resources he gives people are greatly underutilized by our entire industry. His tireless efforts spark hundreds to be better.”