Insurance

State Farm to want DRP auto body shops to make use of CCC by April 1, 2021

State Farm has dropped its platform-agnostic policy and can require Select Service collision repairers to make use of CCC by next spring, calling it dependent on customer support and streamlining.

“While State Farm has historically allowed repairers in the Select Service network to make use of any of the three major estimating systems, this approach can cause inconsistencies and duplication,” the insurer wrote to direct repair program auto body shops inside a Monday email provided to Repairer Driven News.

State Farm is by no means unique in this regard. Other insurers and certifying automakers have required partner collision repairers to make use of specific estimating platforms too.

A 2021 Collision Advice-CRASH Network “Who Pays for What?” survey found 83.7 percent of responding shops had CCC installed. 27.9 percent used Mitchell, and 23.7 percent ran Audatex.

A separate question found 51.2 percent of Audatex users, 35 percent of Mitchell customers and 31.1 % of retailers with CCC declaring an insurer mandate their primary reason for purchasing the software.

CCC was the only real estimating service that an insurer mandate wasn’t no. 1 motivator behind purchasing decisions. 35.9 % of shops cited CCC’s quality his or her primary reason for using the platform.

 

Still, their state Farm change is interesting given what we’re told has been the insurer’s long-running and lauded position of platform neutrality.

“To streamline our processes and create a more consistent customer experience, we have selected CCC(R) like a single solution,” State Farm explained to DRP shops Monday. “CCC provides an end to end digital solution that aligns with our long-term strategy for continuing to enhance how we meet customer needs.”

The State Farm DRP message provided to Repairer Driven News was directed at a store who had been already using one bit of CCC estimating software, assuring Farm said the organization ought to be fine as is. Nevertheless the insurer inspired to be notified when the repairer wasn’t while using CCC Perform package containing CCC Advisor and CCC UpdatePlus with rental integration.

“All Select Service repairers will be required to make use of the CCC Perform package for those estimates uploaded to State Farm no later than April 1, 2021,” State Farm wrote. “This requirement is within alignment with provision 3.i. of the Select Service Agreement.”

That gives shops 3 months to transform to CCC if they weren’t already utilizing it.

CCC noted most Select Service shops already had experience with its software, an assessment based on the market share data collected by Collision Advice and CRASH Network.

“CCC did with State Farm in excess of Twenty five years and has worked with the majority of the repair facilities inside their network for many years as well,” CCC spokeswoman Michelle Hellyar wrote in an email Tuesday.

But she said the transition shouldn’t be a challenge for CCC newcomers.

“Repair facilities new to CCC ONE will notice a simple onboarding and implementation process, ensuring they are able to get value from their new technology quickly,” she wrote. “When you are on CCC ONE and also the CCC network, repair facilities supports their state Farm program along with other DRP programs by which they participate.

“We expect newly activated repair facilities will be live within Twenty four hours or once the repair facility schedules their implementation and training. As we have seen along with other new clients, the earlier they are live and taking advantage of CCC ONE, the earlier they will realize the benefits.

“We recommend shops begin the onboarding process soon to be ready and proficient as a participant on the State Farm program.”

The change also enhances the question of which platform the insurer uses internally going forward. We’ve been told the carrier had used Audatex, however the email suggests an interest in CCC.

Audatex parent company Solera hasn't yet taken care of immediately a request comment concerning the State Farm DRP policy and the insurer’s estimating service usage. State Farm declined to comment when inquired about the policy change and for information regarding its in-house estimating service.

“We have nothing to share at the moment,” State Farm public affairs specialist Gina Morss-Fischer wrote in an email Tuesday. The single answer also encompassed an issue about how State Farm adjusters would interact with non-CCC estimates from non-DRP auto body shops.

Mitchell also declined to comment when inquired about State Farm’s vary from being estimating service-neutral to some specific brand.

State Farm established that it could use CCC for total losses too.

“You will continue to utilize the Autosource website to complete vehicle inspection reports on possible total loss vehicles,” State Farm wrote. “An additional communication will be provided in the future prior to moving total loss tactic to CCC workflows.”

As noted above, many Select Service shops were already running CCC anyway. However the short timeframe for that rest to adopt CCC enhances the question of whether any of the remaining facilities would be under contract to an estimating service they no more need post April 1, 2021.

Mitchell said hello didn’t discuss customer contract lengths, and Audatex hasn’t yet taken care of immediately our inquiry on this point. CCC said Tuesday its contracts run 3 years.

State Farm’s “absolutely nothing to share” response seen above also put on an RDN inquiry concerning the issue of contractual overlap.