Oct. 2, 2019—The recent "Who Pays for What?" survey shows an increasing number in shops charging and being paid for administrative tasks involved in processing total losses.

The survey, conducted by Collision Advice, polled 650 shops nationwide. The survey found that while some shops say they have never charged administrative fees to process total losses, that number has been dropping steadily over the past 5 years.

“Certainly shops may agree to waive any such fees as part of a direct repair agreement," said Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, who conducts the quarterly “Who Pays for What?” surveys in conjunction with CRASH Network. “But the process has continued to become more complex. It can involve more tear-down, more research of OEM procedures, unloading or loading the vehicle to and from a tow truck, etc., and more and more shops cannot afford to perform all these tasks for free.”

Data shows:

• That the percentage of shops that say they “never” charge to process total losses has steadily declined from 30 percent in 2015 to just 19 percent this year.
•  The percentage of shops at least negotiating to be paid a fee to process these vehicles surpassed 80 percent for the first time this year, up from just under 70 percent in 2015.
• Of those negotiating to be paid, 63 percent report being paid “always” or “most of the time” by the nation's eight largest insurers; that’s up from less than half (46 percent) in 2015.