‘Who Pays for What?’ Survey: Auto Body Shops Increasingly Billing, Being Paid for Seat Belt Inspections General Motors’ recently-revised post-crash inspections continue to call for inspections of seat belts “after any collision,” and “Who Pays for What?” surveys continue to find an increasing percentage of auto body shops are billing—and being paid—for this procedure by the eight largest auto insurers. In 2016, when Collision Advice and CRASH Network first asked about seat belt inspections in their “Who Pays for What?” survey, nearly two-thirds of shops—63%—said they had never billed for it. This year, that has nearly reversed, with 62% of shops reporting they have charged for the labor to inspect seat belts. Among those shops, about one in three—34%, up from 24% in 2016—say they are paid for that procedure “always” or “most of the time,” and nearly an equal percentage say they are paid at least “some of the time.” The trend is good news for shops and consumers. But for this procedure in particular, Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, who
conducts the surveys in conjunction with CRASH Network, is concerned more with just making sure it gets done.
“Every OEM has a very specific procedure for how to inspect seatbelts,” Anderson said. “No matter whether you charge for it or not, we have an obligation to make sure that we’re fixing vehicles safely and properly, and that means following the OEM repair procedures when it comes to seat belts.” The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey is now
open through July. It focuses on “not-included” frame and mechanical labor operations. Shops can take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L3H3JQP Survey participants receive a free report with complete survey findings along with analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented. Anderson said the survey, which will take about 15 to 20 minutes, can be completed by anyone in a shop familiar with the shop’s billing practices and the payment practices of at least some of the largest national insurers. Each shop’s individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released. The results of previous surveys are also available online at www.crashnetwork.com/collisionadvice. Source: CRASH Network, Collision Advice
Audi Selects Mobileum Mobileum Inc., a leading global provider of analytics-based roaming and network services, risk management and testing and monitoring solutions, is pleased to announce Audi is deploying Mobileum’s Connected Car Testing solution to test and monitor the end-toend quality of service (QoS) of its connected cars. By implementing Mobileum’s Connected Car Testing solution, Audi ensures its customers will experience the best online infotainment, safety, navigation and communication capabilities while they are in the car. Mobileum’s Connected Car Testing solution allows Audi to remotely test its connected cars from a centralized location, and it provides unparalleled KPIs to monitor and improve the connected car experience. In addition, Mobileum will enable Audi to support important safety features. Source: Mobileum
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