Table of Contents

Print Archives

Bodyshop - August 2006

Features

Peddling performance
Networks and franchisors are selling high performance to insurance partners, and using performance-enhancing programs to entice shops aboard. As shops compete for DRP business in the over-supplied Canadian market, measurable performance becomes an attractive tool, providing a defense against the alternative competitive tactic -- discounted rates.

Insight on total-loss vehicles
A highlight of the CCIF Halifax meeting in June was a panel discussion on the subject of total-loss claims which revealed the surprising truth that nobody likes a write-off.

5 reasons to attend NACE
Test your estimating skills, try virtual painting, and speak one-on-one with manufacturers at NACE, plus experience Las Vegas as it welcomes Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week.

Down east, it's not about the money
"The door rate doesn't matter." Could those words have come from a 25-year veteran of the auto insurance industry? Yes. They come from Wayne Blair, supervisor, auto appraisal unit, Atlantic Region, for Johnson/Unifund Assurance Company. Cheered by the local industry's reasonable request for labor rate increases last year, and by Johnson/Unifund's recent agreement with the Halifax-based Integrity Collision Network, Blair has hope that insurers and the collision industry are moving toward his customer-focused view. Here are Blair's thoughts on the state of the industry.

Selling should be your last choice
Business intermediary Doug Robbins offers 14 alternatives to selling out.

Observations from IBIS
IBIS 2006 showed a continuation of themes from previous years: repairability issues, environmental directives and insurance claims management trends.

Departments

In My Estimation

On the Road

News Briefs

Fix & Finish