They Are Counting on You!
by Evangelos “Lucky” Papageorg, AASP/MA Executive Director
One thing has become abundantly and blatantly clear to anyone observing the Auto Body Labor Rate Advisory Board (ABLRAB): the insurance representatives will go to extraordinary lengths to protect their own self-interests and profits – even at the expense of policyholders and vehicle owners involved in an insurance-covered loss.
They are like a “dog with a bone” when it comes to insisting certain labor rates be included in the labor rate survey for Massachusetts. They are counting on you to provide the very ammunition they need to undermine your business.
Ignoring the true definition of a “prevailing rate,” insurers are demanding that contractual rates from referral, program and fleet accounts be included in the survey. They conveniently ignore the quid pro quo involved (“we’ll send you work if you accept this rate”) and fail to acknowledge the intimidation and fear that shops face if they remain independent. Independent shops are often unfairly steered against and treated as second-class – while consumers, many of whom distrust their insurers, still feel pressured into using “preferred” shops.
Unless a vehicle owner is well-informed, it’s easy to be misled. Insurers often say, “If you use one of our shops, we’ll guarantee the work.” But the guarantee usually hides the fact that the shop indemnifies the insurer just to stay on the list. Would you return to the same surgeon who botched your surgery? That’s exactly what insurers ask of vehicle owners: to return to the shop that already delivered poor-quality repairs. Often, these shops lack the training or equipment to repair today’s complex vehicles properly – or choose not to invest. If you’re one of those shops, the insurers are counting on you to help set the bar for “prevailing” rates and standards. If you can’t perform all proper repairs, consider stepping aside – your work puts public safety and the industry’s reputation at risk.
It has become clear in ABLRAB meetings that the insurer representatives have a well-defined agenda: to mislead Board members unfamiliar with the collision repair industry. They want to build a fantasy narrative, urging everyone to “ignore the man behind the curtain” – the one pulling the strings to keep labor rates suppressed. They are counting on you to be the flying monkeys who obediently follow their lead, convinced change is impossible.
So, what can you do? You can:
• Do what’s best for the vehicle owner, your business, your employees and their families.
• Stop drinking the “Kool-Aid.” Perform all required repairs to return vehicles to safe, pre-loss condition.
• Charge a fair, reasonable rate for the services and liability you take on.
• Take steps to ensure that the insurance industry can no longer profit off your work at your and the customer’s expense.
If you’re unwilling to do what’s right for the right reasons, please step aside. They are counting on you to complain, but not take action.
In the short term, one important action is to complete the labor rate survey developed by the ABLRAB. This survey will be sent to every business on the Division of Standards’ (DOS) registered shop list. While the survey is flawed, it allows shops to report their posted labor rates and the rates charged for non-insurance, customer-pay work – which is the true measure of a prevailing market rate.
It is essential that you answer this survey:
• Promptly and truthfully.
• Based on actual transactions, not wishful thinking.
• NOT based on what an insurer reimburses or what you hope to be paid.
• DO NOT fall into the trap of lowballing your rate hoping for referrals – this survey is not about gaining work.
• DO NOT present what might be viewed as an inflate-the-rate to “make up for years of loss” unless you can back it up with documentation.
Unrealistic figures will, in all likelihood, be dismissed, just like the false narratives insurers are already pushing should be.
Be on the lookout for the survey from the ABLRAB and related materials from the Alliance. The results will be critical as the data is analyzed and presented.
They are counting on you to reinforce their claim that all is fair and equitable under current reimbursement practices.
WE are counting on YOU to prove them wrong!
Want more? Check out the July 2025 issue of New England Automotive Report!