by David Ribeiro, Director, Industry Relations,
Automotive Retailers Association (ARA)
As I write this article, President Trump is threatening substantial tariffs on Canadian materials and products imported to the United States. Fortunately, Canada and Mexico were able to obtain a delay, which required both to position themselves in such a way as to respect certain common interests including drug traffic and border security. This tug of war clearly demonstrates the role that ideologies play on the international stage, and how decisions are often designed to maximize self-interest.
I am purposely staying away from positioning myself on the political debate; however, it does raise questions around the rational behind those decisions.
Collision Quarterly, Spring 2025
In this article, I will consider the impact of ideologies on the automotive industry with respect to collision repairer/insurer perspectives, and how their industries, just like the nations above, consider common interests while vehemently opposing measures aimed at imposing unrealistic or one-sided positions.
Although industry issues have not united Canada like Trump’s tariff threats have, there certainly exists a ground swell and expectation around the collision repair industry being compensated for the work performed while meeting the increased technological requirements and complexity involved with repairs.
"In the collision repair industry’s case, we don’t have walls to build—just the opposite. We have walls to take down.”
The Automotive Retailers Association (ARA) in British Columbia has long campaigned with two mantras: (1) “Industry is entitled to fair compensation,” and (2) “Industry does not work for free.” Insurers’ ideology involves controlling costs for the motoring public by imposing rules and controls that represent their own interests. Repairers, who operate “for profit” businesses, look to receive payment to cover their investment and ensure sufficient cash flow to generate profit. They too are concerned with their own interests. So here lies the tug of war between ideologies and the need for reasonable positioning towards common interests. In the collision repair industry’s case, we don’t have walls to build—just the opposite.
We have walls to take down. The ARA has led a campaign to slowly take back control. How, you ask? One of our strategic priorities is to “enhance member financial and operational health.” Our approach has involved government advocacy to expose the self-serving approach of public insurance schemes, and to also provide programs to help industry operate at peek efficiency. In B.C., the ARA recognizes that industry gave away control to insurers through specialized programs that have slowly devolved into meeting the needs of insurers more than the needs of industry.
One program where we need to take back control involves the challenging world of collision repair, where maintaining accuracy in estimates can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced estimators. Programs such as our partnership with (and distribution of) EstimateScrubber offers a specialized software solution for ARA Collision Repair Division members. The software is designed to assist collision repair centres with getting fair compensation for services while enhancing operational accuracy and efficiency. This
solution addresses this issue by swiftly reviewing estimates for precision, eliminating missed opportunities and overlooked items, thus helping the collision centre bill for all services performed.
The ARA EstimateScrubber is directly linked to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s (ICBC’s) policies and procedures, which differentiates the tool from others available on the market. The tool identifies potential discrepancies between the estimate and ICBC’s guidelines. While the tool suggests modifications, the final responsibility to update the estimate lies with the estimator.
A more recently applied general industry solution involves understanding the rights of business through the application of a legal principle entitled promissory estoppel. What brought about this need? Within B.C., industry has long been concerned with what was felt to be the unfair practice of altering repair estimates after the completion of repairs and then reducing the claim payment (claw back) for what an insurer felt were excessive repairs.
In response to this concern, the ARA spoke to insurance senior leaders about the matter and distributed a document to collision members that outlined promissory estoppel. The main goal for issuing this document is to ensure industry is being treated in a fair and equitable manner.
For industry, promissory estoppel should provide the confidence to seek fairness related to agreements with insurers, and clarify that it is not acceptable that arbitrary claw backs should amend those prior agreements. This helps everyone to understand that agreements, verbal or written, are enforceable given certain tests are met.
So, what are the tests? In simple terms:
- Prior to work having started, “manual” approval was given to a service provider. The agreement must be reasonable with reasonable expectation of compensation to the supplier.
- The service provider completed the work according to the terms of approval. The work was done according to the agreement, and the service provider is not at a loss for having provided the service.
Provided these conditions are met, the terms of the agreement stand. An insurer does not have the ability to claw back payment or adjust the agreed terms after the fact.
The ARA continues to look for ways for industry to take back control, and we work toward change that helps ensure industry is treated fairly and compensated for work completed. This tug of war between ideologies continues; however, the ARA’s mission statement, “to create an environment where B.C. automotive professionals can invest, innovate, and thrive,” is difficult to interpret as being against the common interest. For the ARA and industry, it’s about ensuring we have a viable (profitable) and highly professional industry, capable of repairing vehicles to their pre-accident condition.
The ARA continues to seek innovative solutions and partnerships for the benefit of its members. If you have suggestions for service features to help industry take back control, please contact me at the ARA (crd@ara.bc.ca).
For a firsthand experience of EstimateScrubber and to better understand its value, please visit ara.bc.ca/EstimateScrubber. ■