With the exception of State Farm, insurers still fail to frequently reimburse collision repairer charges for feather, prime and block, the most recent “Who Will pay for What?” survey found.
Only 39 percent of hundreds of responding shops reported eight major national insurers covered the refinishing operation “always” or “the majority of the time” on average once the repairers billed for this. But for State Farm, nearly 62 percent from the 614 shops encountered this level of consistency. The following closest of the seven remaining insurers was USAA at 42.4 percent, according to the study by CRASH Network and Collision Advice.
The overall 39 percent isn’t much better from the 35 percent the research found 5 years ago, specially when one considers the margin of error was more than 3 % within the survey many years of 2021 and 2021.
That’s a potential problem for purchasers, who ultimately are on the hook for just about any part of a repairer’s invoice the insurer refuses to cover. The inconsistency one of the insurance industry also defies guidance from at least two information providers that feather, prime and block is “required.”
“Audatex recognizes that Feather/Prime/Block are required operations when replacing welded-on panels,” Audatex wrote in the Database Reference Manual P-pages.
“… Feather, Prime & Block are needed operations within the panel repair process.”
“Prime & block is a required method that restores a repaired panel surface, including the joined regions of replaced welded panels, from 150-grit finish to that of the NEW UNDAMAGED condition,” CCC writes in its MOTOR Guide to Estimating P-pages.
However, the study nevertheless provides proof to repairers and customers that the major insurers do cover this labor. A store which bills for that work or perhaps a customer who’s reimbursed for it isn’t the “only one,” according to the data.
The work isn’t included in any of the estimating services’ labor times except for Audatex’s times for welded replacement panels. However, Audatex doesn’t give a material allowance within this time, based on its P-Pages.
Between 7 percent and 13 percent from the shops which took part in the research said they never billed a specific insurer’s claim for feather, prime and block. The “Who Pays” studies inquire about eight of the nation’s largest carriers.
“All the estimating system refinish times are based on new, undamaged panels,” Collision Advice CEO Mike Anderson wrote within the 2021 study. “But mending on a welded-on panel, for instance, ends with the technician finishing them back at 150 grit. A panel finished with 150 grit isn't the equal to new and undamaged. To get to that level requires finishing the repaired panel to 320 grit.
“The paint and abrasives manufacturers concur that you ought to not jump more than two grit-sizes. You cannot go from 150 to 320 grit. It's that process in between the 2 that's essentially covered by this not-included labor time for you to feather, prime and block.
“… he most of shops say it's their painters are doing this method. And when you appear in the EPA 6H rule, priming can only be done by those meeting 6H qualifications, which generally means somebody who has been through paint training.”
The recently released “Who Pays?” survey ran from Jan. 1-Jan. 31 and asked about a few dozen operations, with a refinishing focus. Help the collision industry if you take the present “Who Pays for What?” survey by the end of the month and answering questions about topics including not-included body labor operations. All email address details are kept confidential; data is published only in the aggregate.
