May 26, 2015—Collision repair shops that have earned Gold Class recognition from I-CAR are creating significant cost savings for consumers and insurance companies, according to details in a new white paper, the I-CAR QI 2015 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Length of Rental (LOR) report.
Gold Class shops with well trained technicians are able to repair vehicles fasters and as a result, can shorten car rental days according to data collected by Enterprise, the report stated.
In order to be certified as Gold Class, shops need technicians that have earned Platinum recognition by completing industry specified levels of training, which contribute to safe and quality repairs that benefit the customer. The training addresses industry specific knowledge requirements across four key collision repair roles: estimator, non-structural technician, steel structural technician and refinish technician.
The data examined was for the first quarter of 2015 from collision repair shops in which Enterprise conducts business. Enterprise compared the market-average length of rental (LOR) for repairable vehicles across all shops in their database versus shops that have earned Gold Class recognition from I-CAR. In order to be certified as Gold Class, shops have to have technicians who have earned Platinum recognition by completing industry specified levels of training which contribute to safe and quality repairs that benefit the customer.
"This new data further supports the significant advantages of Gold Class shops," said John Van Alstyne, CEO and president of I-CAR. "Not only are shops better qualified to perform proper repairs and do so more cost effectively, consumers and insurance companies also are saving money. And consumers also gain peace of mind, knowing technicians with updated industry-standard training are repairing their vehicles, which contributes to complete, safe and quality repairs. This data complements other related I-CAR data that shows the positive impact training has on shop KPI performance, and the further performance benefits that accrue to shops that possess a culture of learning or as I-CAR refers to it, a "Learning Culture."
The national industry average LOR was 11.5 days; Gold Shops averaged 10.2 days, an 11 percent improvement. The top 500 Gold Class LOR performers turned those repairs around in only 7.9 days, a 31 percent improvement. Looking at only the top 100 Gold Class shops, the LOR drops to 6.5 days for a 43 percent improvement.
The reduced LOR means a reduced expense for insurers that provide rental car coverage to policyholders with this provision in their policy. This also means a lower cost for drivers who do not have rental car coverage provisions in their policies.
The white paper also analyzes the ROI associated with training and the further impact that a “Learning Culture” can have on performance. Shops with I-CAR training showed improvements in four key performance indicators:
- Shops improved cycle time (how rapidly they completed safe and quality repairs) by more than 14 percent.
- They improved touch time (the number of hours a technician worked on a vehicle) by nearly 34 percent.
- Frequency of supplements for necessary repairs overlooked in the estimate dropped by 11 percent.
- Customer satisfaction increased 5 percent.
