AASP/MA VENDOR AFFINITY PROGRAM SPONSORS

Reasons to Join AASP/MA I WANTWE– and Reasons to Stay YOU

It’s time to preach to the non-converted.

If you’re reading this magazine but are still on the fence about joining AASP/MA, this is the time to take the plunge. From various legislative endeavors to address stagnant rates and reform the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB) to a slew of special discounts and incentives available through its Vendor Affinity Program (VAP), the association is stronger and more active than ever. But don’t take our word for it – read on for honest and direct feedback from dedicated members who have benefitted through the small investment in annual dues.

Previously a member of the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA), shop owner Russell Oagles, Jr. (Five Star Collision Center, Inc.; Westport) joined AASP/MA shortly before the pandemic hit to show his support of the group’s ongoing campaign to establish a fair collision repair reimbursement rate for Massachusetts consumers.

“We need a more realistic average rate,” he says. “The one we have now has been a huge problem as we try to bring new employees to the door; we can’t compete with other industries. Keeping an employee coming to work requires that we pay them hourly close to what the entire business is currently receiving hourly to perform repairs and stay in operation. A McDonald’s menu from 1990 doesn’t have the same prices as it does in 2021, but our rate has not moved along the same lines.”

With COVID-19 restrictions beginning to subside, Oagles looks forward to becoming more active in AASP/MA and adding his voice to the call for change in how insurers currently negotiate with professional repair facilities.

“We hear, ‘That’s the prevailing rate,’ but nobody has shown me the data that confirms the accuracy of that amount. However, that’s the rate they try to keep us at.”

As AASP/MA moves forward with its various efforts to strengthen the success and profitability of its members, it does so with the full support of decades-long association veterans. John Ellis, owner of John’s Collision in Hyannis, dates back to the MABA days and served on the Board of Directors in the early ‘90s. Thirty years later, he remains an avid believer that critical goals can only be reached by working alongside his peers in the field.

“I’m too stubborn to give up. We’re still fighting the same fights we fought back then in trying to get better paid […] I feel we’re always going in the right direction. We don’t always win, but if we don’t keep fighting, then we’re never going to get any better than where we are right now.”

Like Oagles, Ellis is quick to point out the need for true consumer reimbursement rate reform, especially with everything from technology to coronavirus shining a greater light on this problem than ever before.

“It slaps you in the face every day you go to work,” he says.

Another past MABA Board member, Ed Koslowsky of Major Impact in Carver, stays involved in AASP/MA after 51 years in business for one simple reason: The Board and other active members persevere tirelessly on his behalf.

“I know firsthand how hard those people work for the industry – with little to no reward. I just feel that to be in this industry, you have to be a member. There’s nobody else out there fighting for us […] We should have 1,000 more members!”

As a real-world example of what AASP/MA membership has meant to him, Koslowsky recalls an issue he faced with an insurer that refused to pay his markup on a tow bill.

“We’re not the Bank of Carver. Why should we be subsidizing insurance companies? We’re entitled to a markup.”

By researching the free documents provided by the association, he was able to locate a past opinion letter by then-Division of Insurance Legal Counsel Victor Fanikos that supported his position. After receiving this letter, the insurer ultimately paid Major Impact in full – including the shop’s markup, which alone paid for a considerable part of his annual dues.

“It was no small win, and that was due to the association and the documents it makes available to members.”

These are just a handful of stories that represent the past, present and future value of association life. If you’ve been spending time on the sidelines, you owe it to yourself to broaden your participation and join others in reshaping the industry.

In the words of John Ellis: “Send in your dues and get more involved.”