Nearly 50% of shops now say they are regularly getting paid for the labor involved in inspecting seat belts by the eight largest national insurers — twice the percentage that said that when the question was first asked in the “Who Pays for What?” survey series back in 2016.
This “not-included” repair operation — for which every OEM has a very specific procedure — is a necessary and required part of a safe collision repair, said Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, adding he will not be satisfied until 100% of shops are performing it.
“As I conduct workshops across the country for automakers and wholesale parts managers, it is concerning to me to hear how few seat belts are being sold,” said Anderson, who conducts the “Who Pays” surveys with CRASH Network. “This leads me to believe that too many in the industry do not understand how critical this procedure is, or aren’t looking at the OEM information on this to know how to properly inspect a seat belt. It’s often more than just a visual inspection.”
The industry appears to be headed in the right direction on the procedure. In 2016, 63% of shops acknowledged they had never included it on a final invoice; that’s fallen to just 20% today. And of those who had in 2016, more than half (56%) said insurers would never pay for it. Today, 1 in 4 still believe insurers won’t pay for the procedure, even while 49% of the shops that do charge for it say they get paid all or most of the time by the eight largest national insurers, and another 26% are paid at least sometimes.
“I am glad to see the big improvement, but more is needed,” Anderson said. “As an industry, we must accept responsibility for researching and following the requirements for this on every single vehicle we repair.”
At the 2025 SEMA Show, Anderson will host the Society of Collision Repair Specialists' three OEM Summit sessions on Nov. 6, each focusing on OEM safety inspections and how they impact seat belts, airbags, steering columns and ADAS. He will be joined at each session by representatives from three collision repair shops.
Newest 'Who Pays for What?' Survey Now Open
The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey is now open through the month of October. It focuses on billing and payment practices related to scanning and calibrations, aluminum repair and shop supplies. Shops can take the survey here.
Survey participants receive a free report with complete survey findings along with analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented.
The survey can be completed in about 15 minutes by anyone familiar with their shop's billing practices and the payment practices of at least some of the largest national insurers. Each shop's individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released.
The results of previous surveys are also available here.
