Are You Carrying Your Load? “Who Pays for What 2025?” in WMABA’s Region

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

“Ask and you shall receive” – most are familiar with this saying, and although the accuracy of this statement is certainly debateable, its opposite seems to hold true; if you don’t ask, it’s unlikely that you’ll receive.

The veracity of this can be seen repeatedly throughout the results of the 2025 “Who Pays for What?” quarterly surveys, provided free to the industry courtesy of CRASH Network and Collision Advice. These surveys explore, track and analyze how billing and negotiation practices vary between shops across the country by examining a variety of “not-included items.”

“Our goal has always been to help shops become aware of the not-included procedures they are doing or materials they are using and understand how often other shops are being compensated for them,” Mike Anderson (Collision Advice) explains. “The whole reason we do these surveys, and ask you to participate, is because we believe doing so will have a positive impact on your business.”

While each survey acknowledges “none of the procedures in this survey are universally paid by insurers, none are universally rejected by insurers either,” it also draws the conclusion that “whether or not a repair facility is reimbursed for a particular item depends, to a certain degree, on whether or not the shop negotiates for it.”

This is clearly evidenced by a deeper review of the figures presented within the four reports published last year. Combined, the surveys examined 95 not-included operations, and of those, the top 10 most-paid procedures (based on the majority of shops reporting they get paid “all or most of the time”) were negotiated for by at least 95 percent of shops. In contrast, the 10 least-paid procedures show negotiation rates of less than 50 percent on average.

“Who Pays for What?” goes a step further by breaking down its data into various regions. WMABA’s membership falls into the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Examining how the Mid-Atlantic figures compare to the national data shows a trend that reinforces the claim that reimbursement correlates to negotiation.

Nearly 60 percent of the time, the operations that were negotiated less often were paid less frequently, while those with higher rates of negotiation yielded more frequent payouts.

In 2025, Mid-Atlantic shops reported that they negotiate more often and typically get paid on 16 procedures; they asked five percent more frequently, and they were 5.5 percent more likely to get paid most/all of the time. Of the 36 procedures where they negotiate and get paid less often than their national counterparts, Mid-Atlantic shops asked for payment on those procedures 4.9 percent less often and collected 7.3 percent less frequently.

The 2025 Refinish survey found that Mid-Atlantic shops are most likely to get paid to apply chip/gravel/stone guard or rough coat (82.6 percent), to blend adjacent panels for color match (80.8 percent) and to mask beyond 36 inches (75.6 percent). They are least likely to get paid for these three operations: removing static (10 percent), wet bed application for blending (7.5 percent) and fuel surcharge (1.4 percent); they negotiate for these operations 46.2, 26.7 and 15.4 percent of the time, respectively.

When it comes to frame and mechanical operations, the three not-included operations that most often see payment are disconnect and reconnect the battery (83.7 percent), transport vehicle to sublet service provider (72.5 percent) and R&I of electrical components (69.5 percent); these are negotiated by 95.5, 93.4 and 86.3 percent of Mid-Atlantic respondents. Despite similar negotiation rates, only 65.7 percent of shops in this region report being paid all or most of the time for administrative fees on total losses, compared to 74 percent nationally.

The three least commonly paid frame operations include administrative fee for re-rekeying of estimate or reconciliation of insurer estimate and shop estimate (6.7 percent), stall cure time (9.6 percent) and tire run-out test (11.7 percent); respectively, these negotiation rates are 34.9, 23.2 and 35.1 percent.

Scanning and calibrations finally seem to be getting a foothold in the industry with shops and insurers accepting the importance of these valuable operations. In the Mid-Atlantic region, 100 percent of surveyed shops negotiate for pre-repair scans, post-repair scans and calibration of other systems, and that dedication has yielded favorable results with 90.5, 92.5 and 98.1 percent (respectively) of shops reporting that they get paid all/most of the time for these items.

Body labor operations seem to have a lower payout rate than other operations in general, but in the Mid-Atlantic, the top five operations that are most often paid all have negotiation rates of over 90 percent and include repair adjacent/mating panels (57.7 percent), apply seam-sealer on bolted-on panels for CCC and Audatex users only (63.1 percent), remove molding/emblem/decal adhesive (64.2 percent), install sound-deadening material (64.9 percent) and rust-proofing (69.5 percent). One of the largest variances between the number of shops negotiating for an item and actually getting paid is – not surprisingly – labor to install non-OEM parts. Although 83 percent of Mid-Atlantic shops negotiate this line item, just 16.3 percent actually receive compensation for it.

“Despite what you may be told, you are not ‘the only one’ doing and charging for the nearly 100 not-included procedures and items we cover throughout the year,” Anderson stresses, noting, “It has been said there are people in life who WATCH stuff happen, and there are people in life who MAKE stuff happen!”

The most relevant way to move the needle in a positive way is to make sure your shop is carrying its share of the negotiation load – when more shops negotiate for a specific non-included item, insurers are much more likely to pay for that procedure.

Anderson suggests that shop estimators and staff can use the quarterly reports “to identify which of the procedures the shop is performing on some or all jobs. Then consider which, if any, of those items the shop wants to include on estimates and invoices when appropriate…maybe you’ll want to start with those items most frequently being paid by insurers. Next, prepare your staff to negotiate for these items, perhaps choosing two or three to focus on each quarter.”

He recommends asking yourself four questions:

1.  Is it required to return the vehicle back to its pre-accident condition? Shops can determine and document the answer to this question by researching OEM repair procedures, reviewing bulletins from paint manufacturers and scanning the vehicle.

2.  Is it included in any other labor operation? Estimators can ascertain the answer to this question by reading the p-pages, accessing the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ Blueprint Optimization Tool or by submitting an inquiry through the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG).

3.  Are there pre-determined times? The best resources for determining whether a pre-determined time has been established for a not-included item are the estimating systems or the DEG.

4.  What is it worth? Although there is no way to establish a specific price range for a procedure, Anderson encourages shops to “figure out what your labor is going to be and any materials you’re going to use. The time you charge should reflect how long it takes the average technician to gather up their tools, equipment and supplies and perform the task in a safe and proper manner and then return their tools and equipment.” Conducting time studies might be a valuable way to determine a fair and appropriate charge.

“Arm your estimators with the tools and resources needed to answer those questions, and you can be among the shops successfully being paid for many of the procedures in this survey,” Anderson urges.

Another way for collision repair facilities to “make stuff happen” is to participate in the quarterly “Who Pays for What?” surveys to ensure this data is as accurate as possible. Based on the US Census Bureau and National Automotive Dealers Association data, there are approximately 40,000 repair facilities across the country, and although “Who Pays for What?” attracts responses from most or all states in each iteration, an average of just 620 shops participated in this valuable resource in 2025. While this number is consistently higher than other industry surveys and boasts a considerably low margin of error (around three percent), higher participation is always encouraged.

Participation is particularly low in WMABA’s market where less than 10 Maryland shops participated each quarter of last year and an average of 16 shops from Virginia responded. West Virginia saw just two or three shops participate in three of the four surveys, with seven shops contributing insights to the Refinish edition. An increase in respondents would help ensure that these regional insights are as accurate as the national results.

The 2026 Refinish survey just closed in January, and results will be available next month. The Frame and Mechanical survey will be available in the second quarter of this year.

Shops can weigh in to take the surveys online at crashnetwork.com/collisionadvice. Everyone who completes the survey receives a report once the results are compiled. Results are also available for download via the website.

Want more? Check out the February 2026 issue of Hammer & Dolly!