Collision repairers who believe insurers will mysteriously shed their present pernicious ways if this industry just gives in to them one more time are delusional and terribly near-sighted. It's the way of this world that most insurers, as do most terrorists, have respect only for those who wield greater power than do they themselves. Large numbers and media coverage, solidarity and political power, laws and lawsuits are the only things that will ever have a chance of swaying insurers. Too many among our number falsely imagine that somewhere down the line insurers' conscience will be pricked to do the right thing… that somehow, someday, in some way their sense of morality will mystically surface to benefit a repair industry that is backward, confused, splintered, and virtually dysfunctional - and things will get better for repairers. But don't count on it this side of Heaven which, by the way, won't be infested with insurance companies.

To total control

And you thought insurers were the biggest controlling force we'd ever have to face? Think again! The recent entrance of collision networks - yeah, the same ones that have so efficiently and ruthlessly decimated the glass industry are about to do the same with your collision industry. A June 16, 2004 Pittsburgh Business Wire article announced in part, "(PPG's) LYNX Services announced today that it has become the exclusive national provider of automotive physical damage (APD) repair management services for Ohio Casualty Group. The LYNX-managed repair services include the LYNXSelect ® direct repair program, estimate auditing, and rental car concierge… LYNX Services connects Ohio Casualty adjusters and customers with a national selection of qualified repair shops via a Web-based portal, allowing for easy dispatch and retrieval of repair estimates and images… 'We (the insurer) anticipate financial improvements (at whose expense?.. especially considering the network will retain a healthy hunk of the profits) as a direct result of the (network) managed repairs by LYNX Services.'" stated Ohio Casualty's Phil Horst.

Within several weeks of PPG glass network's LYNX Services announcement that they were entering into the collision claims arena, other networks also announced they were developing, or were ready to release their own collision claims processing systems. The only logical reason for this is that LYNX has had extremely good success in "navigating" (politically correct term for "steering") work to glass network shops. And beyond coincidence is the timing of virtually all paint manufacturers when they announced within weeks of each other that they intended to enter into collision claims processing via a network of shops (isn't it interesting how "claims processing" and "network of shops" always seem to be mentioned together). LYNX has stated that they intend to use the very successful glass claims model in collision claims. Other paint manufacturers, most likely seeing the possibility of their market share being steered to PPG Certified First and LYNXSelect member-shops, have also announced their entrance into claims processing of collision shops.

LYNX is one among many networks selling shops a supposed quality-validated program for insurers to back. You as a shop owner are expected to believe you are signing into a program that will get you referrals from insurers for quality work, much like the "quality programs" many shops signed on in the past with paint manufacturers. What many collision shops fail to comprehend, though, is that quality can not be sold by LYNX, or any other network, to insurers, any more than you can sell Mephisto shoes to any entity that refuses to pay for any more than functional equivalents from K-Mart. Insurers want low cost, and the quality "monkey" removed from their back and placed on the shops' back. Shops which haven't yet accepted the fact, soon will discover that networks' version of Offer and Acceptance (O&A) is, "Accept" what we pay, or we'll "offer" the work to your competitor.

When heavy price controlling pressures are placed on networked collision repairers, selling "quality" to insurers will be displaced with selling "compliance to new cost-saving price auditing.". Its much like an arms merchant selling firearms to both sides involved in the same war, while promising each side they are getting the better deal. In the end, though, networks realize their money comes only from insurers, to whom they will always cater.

Though disorganization has thus far cost the auto glass industry much more than it has cost the collision industry, this will soon change: While the auto glass industry has begun uniting, organizing, and is making inroads into regaining control, collision repairers for the most part yet remain uselessly estranged from each other. As one in the glass industry put it in so many words, "We bent over backwards to please insurers, we fell for a pipe-dream, and so we arrived where we are today, incrementally." And, so, is the collision industry about to arrive.

Collision Repairers Are On A Roll!

There is yet hope for the collision industry, but it won't happen without your help. If the above makes sense to you, if you are finally convinced it is time to take action, contact me.

Dick Strom, Modern Collision Rebuild, 9270 Miller Road, NE, Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110; (206) 842-3621; e- mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it