Feb. 27, 2015—Assured Performance announced on Thursday the creation and launch of an insurer-facing Advanced Repair Capability (ARC) Certified Shop locator at certifiedbodyshop.info.
The site, developed and managed by Assured Performance, lists body shops that are certified by Assured Performance and officially certified-recognized by the various participating auto manufacturers including Ford Motor Company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Nissan North America, and several other auto manufacturers.
This new insurer-facing site is a complement to the consumer-facing websites Assured Performance manages and hosts, including autobodylocator.com and bodyshoplocator.com.
In addition, the participating automakers certified-recognized shop locators are integrated into their consumer-facing vehicle sales and service sites. All of the sites leverage the combined list of certified-recognized body shops.
"With the mass introduction of aluminum alloy, and other advanced materials in the designs of the new vehicle models, it is critical to assist insurers with identifying the shops that have the technical ability;" Aaron Clark, VP of technical compliance for Assured Performance, said in a release. "We've already seen evidence of what can happen when an untrained and ill-equipped shop is selected."
Certification is open to all shops that can meet the stringent requirements. The Assured Performance criteria for certification-recognition are an accumulation of collision industry business standards and multiple OEM criteria focused solely on properly repairing the vehicle.