Power Steering: Insurers Steering to Preferred Shops Washington DC

Insurers steering vehicles to their preferred shops has gotten out of control. But there are some action steps shops can take to counter its effect.

By Charlie Barone
2/1/2008

It seems that every body shop owner has his or her own feeling toward direct-repair programs, ranging from an emotionally charged opposition to tacit approval to enthusiastic acceptance of them as the centerpiece of his or her business model. At any rate, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), insurance company steering ranks as shop owners’ second highest concern behind suppression of labor rates which, in a roundabout way, is supported and perpetuated by the networks of preferred body shops.

While the directing of work is contrary to an open market and has corrosive effects on a non-DRP business’s customer base, it also has a good deal of value to those whose business is dependent on the flow of customers derived from DRPs and their referrals.

For a look at the attitude of mainstream shop operators, I asked Rollie Benjamin, founder, president and CEO of ABRA Auto Body & Glass, what benefits steering can bring to his shops that are on DRPs.

“We participate in many DRPs, but not all ABRA repair centers are on all DRP networks,” Benjamin said. “The short answer is that we benefit when ABRA is on the network and the job ends up at an ABRA center.

Conversely, it is to ABRA’s de...