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Tuesday · July 21, 2026 |
| Cutting through the claims and reimbursement side of collision repair. |
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| In This Issue |
| Who Pays for What · Labor Rate Index · The Advocate · More From the Newsroom · What We're Reading |
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| More shops move priming to painters as insurers push back on blend time |
| Feather, prime, and block is moving to the paint department. Insurer acceptance of the updated blend time formula is moving the other way. |
| 56%of shops now report painters performing the feather, prime, and block procedure, up from about 48% a few years ago, according to the latest "Who Pays for What?" survey. |
| But this year's data on blend time moved the other way: just 20% of shops negotiating more time for blend operations said they are paid the increased amount always or usually, down from 40% two years ago. Awareness of the estimating system changes that enable those calculations also slipped, from 70% of shops in 2024 to 57% this year. |
| Who Pays for What data provided by CRASH Network and Collision Advice. |
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| National posted mechanical rate |
| $163/hr |
| Up 11.6% from a year ago, nearly double the pace of body and refinish. |
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| Posted mechanical labor rates are climbing faster than any other category, according to National Autobody Research. Mechanical rose 11.6% over the year, well ahead of the gains in frame (6.4%), body (6.2%), and refinish (4.9%). |
| The figures come from NABR's LaborRateHero platform, which tracks rates shops post themselves rather than rates negotiated with insurers. For shops weighing whether to keep mechanical work in-house or sublet it, the widening gap is a new number to watch. |
| Labor rate data provided by National Autobody Research and its LaborRateHero platform. |
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| A Tacoma shop closed a $10,000 gap with a state appraisal law |
| A customer's insurer wouldn't budge on a truck repair. So Jared Osten, general manager of Center Collision in Tacoma, Washington, pointed the customer to a state law that didn't exist a few years ago: a right-to-appraisal clause Washington now requires in auto policies renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2026. |
| About a month later, a roughly $10,000 gap had closed, and even Osten was surprised where the number landed. Here is how the shop worked the process, and what it means for the next standoff. |
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| Outside voices worth your attention this cycle. Curated by the Autobody News editorial team. |
| Insurers just had their most profitable year in a decade, a useful number to keep in mind at the negotiating table. |
| Insurance Journal reports the property/casualty industry posted a combined ratio of 93 in 2025 and $61.2 billion in underwriting income, its best result in ten years, led by personal auto and homeowners. |
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| Fuel prices are reshaping which vehicles land in the bay, and they're the ones that cost the most to fix. |
| Dealership Guy breaks down CARFAX data showing used hybrid and EV values up nearly 12% this year, the same vehicles carrying the calibration and high-voltage work that can drive up an estimate. |
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| As AI spreads into the claims process, insurers are moving to write it out of what they'll cover. |
| Claims Journal reports carriers are filing to add AI exclusion endorsements to commercial liability policies, part of an industry-wide response to a 978% jump in AI-related lawsuits since 2021. |
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