MANY FORCES DISRUPTING BODY SHOP REPAIR
The consumer in today’s market is currently at risk regarding the comfort of knowing whether the insurance cover they have provides the cover expected in the unfortunate event of having to lodge a claim for accident damage.
In the depressed economic outlook, we are currently experiencing insurance premiums payable in a material commitment. However, vehicle owners should always confirm that their insurance policy supports safe, manufacturer-compliant repairs – not just the lowest-cost option. Your vehicle’s safety and value depend on it. Understanding your policy today protects your vehicle tomorrow.
It is vitally important to ensure the selected cover in your policy does not contain conditions on where, how and what cover is provided that may leave you compromised for safety, repair to manufacturer standard and operational functionality of the driver aids and technology installed electronic systems which ultimately should remain in full working order.
Consumers don’t realise they have a say in where and how their vehicle is repaired. In many cases, drivers follow insurance company recommendations without understanding how those relationships may influence repair decisions. The issue is not what repair shops charge. It’s what insurance companies are willing to reimburse. When reimbursement falls short of the true cost of modern repairs, some shops may feel pressure to cut corners, skip procedures, or substitute parts to meet insurer pricing.
The problem is that nobody designing these vehicles seems especially concerned about what happens after the crash. That burden lands on repairers.
The impact on autobody repairer industry
The uncomfortable truth is that parts of the modern repair industry are becoming economically inaccessible for smaller operators. Advanced materials capability increasingly functions as a gatekeeping mechanism.
Vehicle structures have become dramatically more complex over the past decade, often with unintended apparent disregard for downstream repair practicality. Mega-castings, bonded sections and integrated assemblies may work brilliantly for production efficiency, but they can turn relatively straightforward collision damage into economically questionable repairs almost instantly.
Repairers increasingly complain that some modern vehicles are designed to be manufactured brilliantly rather than repaired sensibly.
A low-speed impact that would once have produced a profitable structural repair can now turn into an uneconomic total loss because of battery inspection uncertainty, inaccessible components, or the replacement cost of integrated assemblies.
Design EVs to survive repair, not merely survive crashes. Too many electric vehicles are being written off unnecessarily, and vehicle design is a major reason why.
EV capability now demands:
• HV technician certification
• Insulated tooling
• Thermal event management
• Dedicated quarantine space
• Battery lifting systems
• OEM-approved calibration procedures.
That investment only works if repair volume exists.
High write-off rates threaten the business case for independent EV capability itself. EV markets are drifting toward sealed-device economics more familiar to consumer electronics than automotive engineering – especially the more recent brand arrivals.
Replace. Don’t repair
That approach will not survive sustained insurer pressure. Because the real question facing the industry is no longer whether EVs are the future. It is whether the future is repairable.
A damaged EV sill panel may require battery isolation protocols, thermal monitoring, underfloor inspection and OEM diagnostic approval before anyone commits to repair. A bumper repair no longer means just plastics and paint. It means radar alignment, ADAS recalibration, sensor mounting tolerances and post-repair scanning. A cracked casting or bonded structural section can push an estimate beyond economic viability before the first panel is removed.
When repair networks are forced to operate under unsustainable pricing models, maintaining these standards becomes increasingly difficult.
That can leave consumers with a vehicle that appears fine but may not perform safely in any future collision. Two key components of an insurance claim remain unaltered, however, treating the customer fairly while honouring their indemnity against loss remains a paramount consideration among the complexity of a modern job of restoring a vehicle to its pre-accident level with all the warranties restored for a piece of mind professional restoration.
Choosing the right repair shop isn’t about cost or convenience – it’s about safety.
By Steve Kessell
