A total loss can put more than one charge on a shop's bill. The 2026 "Who Pays for What?" – Frame & Mechanical Operations Report tracks three of them, and their payment rates are far apart.
The survey, conducted by Collision Advice and CRASH Network, drew responses from 473 shops in 49 states during April. It asked how often the eight largest auto insurers pay for 21 not-included frame and mechanical procedures.
More than 23% of 2025 claims ended in a total loss
The total-loss process has continued to become more complex, Mike Anderson, president of Collision Advice, wrote in the report. It can involve more tear-down, OEM research, and loading or unloading the vehicle to or from a tow truck, he wrote, and the percentage of total losses is increasing.
The average number of parts per claim, 13 in 2025, has leveled off after rising from 2012 to 2023 but is still three to four parts higher than a decade ago, according to Anderson, and repairs require more disassembly.
The administrative fee ranks first of 21, and only 7% never ask
The administrative fee covers the time required to generate an estimate, valuation report, or other paperwork for a vehicle declared a total loss. At 75%, it ranks first on the report's overall ranking chart in terms of shops being paid by the eight large national insurers asked about in the survey, and just 7% of shops have never asked to be paid for it.
Anderson noted that shops may agree to waive the fee as part of a direct repair agreement. Even so, the share paid all or most of the time has risen from 46% in 2015 to 74% or more for the past three years, he wrote.
Clearing personal data is paid 37% of the time and ranks 13th
The report defines this as labor to erase a customer's personal data, such as a garage door code, GPS data, or data from a synced cell phone, from a total-loss vehicle. Of shops that negotiate for it, 37% are paid always or most of the time, ranking it 13th.
Anderson wrote that clearing the owner's personal data is something shops need to start thinking about for their customers. An owner may have a home address in the navigation unit, contacts stored from a synced phone, and garage door opener codes, he noted. When a vehicle is a total loss, shops need to ask for the owner’s authorization to have that information erased, and the process can be found in the owner's manual, he wrote.
Parts cart storage is paid 33% of the time and ranks 14th
Parts cart storage is a fee for the space required for carts holding parts removed from vehicles that are subsequently declared total losses. Of shops that negotiate for it, 33% are paid always or most of the time. It ranks 14th, directly behind clear personal data.
Anderson wrote that he has seen the fee billed mostly on total losses, similar to outside storage. With total losses increasing and parts growing in size and number, the space needed within a facility for proper parts storage has increased ten-fold in the past decade, he wrote, and it should be a consideration on a total loss, much like vehicle storage.
About six in 10 shops have never asked for either itemized charge
The report's "Never Asked?" chart shows 62% of shops have never negotiated to be paid for erasing customer data from a total-loss vehicle, and 63% have never negotiated for parts cart space. Both rank among the six least-negotiated procedures in the survey.
The report notes that whether a shop is reimbursed depends, to a degree, on whether it negotiates for the item.
Itemized billing now outnumbers the flat fee, and some insurers are pushing back
Asked how they bill for total-loss processing, 79% of shops reported an itemized list of charges and 21% a simple flat fee. The flat-fee share is slowly trending down, according to the report, after reaching as high as 28% in 2022.
Anderson wrote that more shops are itemizing charges such as an estimate or repair plan fee, storage, parts cart storage, disassembly fees, and OEM research.
"Some insurers are pushing back on this and storage fees, in some cases even using bill collection agencies to go after shops after-the-fact to recoup amounts paid," he wrote. "It is important that shops have an attorney review their authorization forms to ensure they are protected."
He also wrote that it will be interesting to watch how AI impacts total-loss processing in the future, identifying total-loss vehicles earlier in the process. "Shops that rely on storage for their profitability need to be thinking about how they might replace that revenue moving forward," Anderson wrote.
Owner's manuals, P-pages, and reviewed authorization forms back up the charges
For data clearing, the report points shops to the owner's manual and to a National Automobile Dealers Association document, "Personal Data in Your Car," linked in its Resources section.
Estimators should keep the P-pages for each estimating system, available in the "Estimate Toolbox" section of the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) website, according to the report, which also lists DEG inquiry results for all three charges. For the itemized charges, Anderson's advice is an attorney review of the shop's authorization forms.
His four negotiating questions, which he wrote can apply to just about any line item on an estimate, are: Is it 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?
The latest quarterly "Who Pays for What?" survey is open through the month of October, focusing on scanning and calibrations, aluminum repair, and shop supplies. Shops can take the survey here.
The full Frame & Mechanical Operations Report is available to download now.
