CCC data released recently indicates the collision industry after 2021 was cleaning around another of customer vehicles as a COVID-19 precaution. During the very first quarter of 2021, only one.1 percent of appraisals contained a COVID-19 disinfecting charge. By the fourth quarter, this proportion rose to “over 30 percent,” CCC...

About 46 percent of repairable vehicle estimates in the fourth quarter of 2021 contained at least one line item for any vehicle diagnostic scan, according to the 2021 CCC “Crash Course” released last month. Fifty-eight percent of current-year or newer repairable vehicle appraisals included a scan charge, and 55 percent...

Audatex: Weld-through primer on ‘little brackets’ not included The DEG in January drew focus on a current clarification by Audatex on when weld-through primer wasn’t included in a labor time. A DEG user in December 2021 cited Audatex’s Database Reference Manual Section 4-2, which lists “Restoration of corrosion-protective coatings ”...

WIRED magazine on Monday took phone insurance industry’s change to photo-based estimating and photo estimating artificial intelligence — as well as body shops’ criticism of the concepts. The article presents the broader trends featuring multiple collision industry voices highlighting discrepancies between photo-based estimates and just what the businesses actually detect:This...

Legislation related to OEM procedures, labor rate surveys and DRP network promotion produced extensive discussion Monday about how exactly direct repair programs operate in Texas. The House Insurance Committee conversation Monday included a representative for various major insurers declaring their DRP shops are told “‘do what must be done'” for...

A bill amending New York’s shop choice law to preserve collision repairer autonomy on part selection has returned for any fifth legislative try. Assembly Bill 6902 would append Insurance Law 2610 to report that first-party collision and comprehensive insurers could not “require a repair facility to utilize a specific vendor...

Chubb on Thursday confirmed that it had offered the Hartford $65 per share for that company, representing a 26 percent premium over the company’s recent average stock price. “We've not yet received an answer to the proposal but are getting excited about constructive, private discussions to be able to expeditiously...

Would you let your kid ride having a stranger? USA Today recently featured articles asking, "Parents, would you let your kid ride an Uber or Lyft by themselves?" Kids getting rides through ridesharing companies is really a growing trend. "Parents have an emergency arise or they can't get away from...

Despite overwhelming support from lawmakers in 2021, a bill promoting paint and materials guidelines and scanning and calibration OEM repair procedures was shot down by a New Hampshire House committee this month. The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee deemed House Bill 310 “Inexpedient to Legislate” within an 18-0 vote...

This year's legislative session has come for an end. Based on the Tampa Bay Times, lawmakers passed 195 bills from the 1,861 bills filed. Some bills were successful as well as for most of the others- there is always next year. Several highlights. Winners: Property Insurance Reform-Property insurance reform, often...