A repair on a bench system can put two jig-related charges on an estimate: a fee for renting the jig or fixture a particular vehicle calls for, and the labor to assemble that jig before it is installed. The 2026 "Who Pays for What?" survey tracks both, and shops that negotiate for them are paid for the rental more often than for the assembly.
The survey, conducted by Collision Advice and CRASH Network, drew responses from 473 shops in 49 states during April. It asked how often eight of the largest auto insurers pay for about 20 not-included frame and mechanical procedures.
Jig figures come only from shops that need to rent or assemble jigs
The jig figures are read differently from most of the survey. Overall, 66% of shops in 2026 said they at times use a bench, fixture, or jig type of frame machine, according to Mike Anderson, president of Collision Advice, in his notes on the two procedures.
The response data for jig rental and jig assembly comes only from shops that have a need to rent or assemble jigs, Anderson wrote, not from all 473 respondents. As with every procedure in the survey, the payment figures also exclude shops that said they never asked to be paid.
Jig rental ranks fifth of 21; jig assembly ranks ninth
The report defines jig rental as a fee for short-term use of a needed jig or fixture for measuring a particular vehicle using a bench system. Of shops that negotiate for it, 61% are paid always or most of the time. It ranks fifth of 21 operations on the report's overall ranking chart, between R&I of electrical components and the steps required after a battery disconnect.
Jig assembly, defined as the labor time spent assembling a jig prior to installation, is paid always or most of the time for 42% of the shops that negotiate for it. It ranks ninth, between pre-measuring to diagnose structural damage and final verification of measurements.
Jig rental rose 1.4 points from the prior year, and jig assembly fell 4.3 points. Both changes are smaller than the survey's minimum margin of error of plus or minus 4.5%, a margin the report notes grows with smaller sample sizes, and the report cautions against reading changes within it as meaningful.
The per-insurer samples are smaller than for most procedures in the survey, roughly 105 to 117 responses per insurer for jig rental. Insurer results differ more on the rental fee than on assembly: 36.5% of shops negotiating with State Farm said they are never paid for jig rental, compared with 15.1% to 21.4% at the other seven insurers. On jig assembly, "never" responses fall between 25.0% and 31.1% across all eight.
Anderson ties low assembly payment to estimator awareness
Anderson addressed the assembly figure directly in his notes. He wrote that he believes the relatively low reimbursement for jig assembly is based on a lack of knowledge or awareness by the estimator or repair planner.
His recommendation is directed at shops. Anderson wrote that he would encourage shops to get training for their estimators from their equipment provider, to educate them on what is involved in jig assembly and the time it requires.
Shops ask for the rental and the assembly at nearly the same rate
The report's "Never Asked?" chart shows 37% of shops have never negotiated to be paid for jig rental and 36% have never negotiated for jig assembly. Given Anderson's note on who answered the jig questions, those shares describe shops with a need to rent or assemble jigs rather than the full survey.
The report's key findings note that whether a shop is reimbursed for an item depends, to a degree, on whether it negotiates for it.
Across the series, there are many examples where nearly three out of four shops report being paid most or all of the time for a procedure they include on estimates, while another 20% never attempt to charge for it.
OEM procedures and P-pages apply to both; assembly adds equipment-provider training
To document that an operation is required, the report points shops to OEM repair procedures, available through automaker websites or third-party services such as ALLDATA, Mitchell TechAdvisor, CCC ONE Repair Methods, I-CAR's Repairability Technical Support Portal, and OEC RepairLogic. Anderson also notes that manufacturers of materials or equipment offer bulletins detailing the need for some procedures.
To confirm included versus not-included status, estimators should have the P-pages for each estimating system, which can be downloaded from the "Estimate Toolbox" section of the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) website. The DEG also accepts inquiries asking an information provider to confirm whether a procedure is included. The report lists one DEG inquiry on jig rental that covers Audatex, CCC, and Mitchell, and three on jig assembly, one for each provider.
Anderson's four negotiating questions apply to both line items: Is the operation required to return the vehicle to pre-accident condition? Is it included in any other labor operation? Are there pre-determined times? What is it worth? For a procedure done frequently in the shop, he recommends setting up time studies to determine an appropriate charge.
Shops that arm their estimators with the tools and resources to answer those questions can be among those successfully paid for many of the survey's procedures, Anderson wrote. For jig assembly, his specific recommendation is training for estimators from the equipment provider on what the work involves and how long it takes.
The full Frame & Mechanical Operations Report is available to download now.
