Panel calls for increasing auto body labor rates | News

BOSTON — Labor rates at Massachusetts automobile physique stores have been stagnant for several years, according to a new report, which calls on Beacon Hill to increase how much non-public insurers fork out for repairs to aid support the having difficulties market.

The report released by the Legislature’s Fee on Auto Overall body Labor Premiums lays out a collection of alternatives that would ultimately raise labor costs for vehicle human body stores and urges lawmakers to consider quite a few suggestions.

The 13-member panel, which integrated lawmakers, automobile entire body fix shop homeowners, motor vehicle dealers and insurance coverage field reps, was created by the Legislature in 2021 to analyze the influence of insurance coverage deregulation in the automobile physique business and ascertain if fees paid out by insurers really should be greater.

The panel adopted the report by a vote of 10-3, with the 3 representatives from the insurance policies sector registering an “unfavorable” vote on its suggestions.

A the greater part of the commission concluded that the car human body prices will need to be improved, but suggested there are many distinct alternatives to receiving there — such as passage of costs presently pending before the point out Legislature.

A single suggestion, presented by a consultant of the Alliance of Automotive Company Suppliers of Massachusetts, referred to as for a tiered approach to expanding the charges that would need approval of pending legislation.

It recommended an maximize of $33 in the bare minimum reimbursement amount and annually adjustments primarily based on the customer value index, among other adjustments.

The report cites federal labor data exhibiting that the regular collision repair service wage in Massachusetts is $47,400, even though the yearly wage for all industries is $72,940.

Furthermore, the normal labor level paid out by insurance plan companies is $40 per hour, which lags at the rear of New Hampshire, New York and other neighboring states.

Alliance of Automotive Support Providers of Massachusetts issued a scathing assertion alongside with the report criticizing insurers for opposing the variations and “failing to provide feasible options or methods.”

“It is obvious that, as far as they are involved, they are really material with a process that artificially suppresses the labor amount reimbursement amount of money in a fashion that can greatest enhance their revenue though maintaining overhead fees as minimal as possible,” the team wrote. “Regretably, those who run vehicle physique mend facilities do not have that luxury of suppressing other value elements in their businesses in purchase to guarantee big revenue margins.”

Proposed laws offered by the Massachusetts Point out Auto Sellers Association, which was also amid the suggestions, would authorize the condition Division of Insurance coverage to set up minimal automobile system labor fees.

In 2008, the condition Division of Insurance policies rolled again laws that experienced established labor fees for automobile physique retailers because the late-1980s right after determining that there was sufficient levels of competition in the vehicle coverage marketplace. The move effectively permitted automobile insurance corporations to established their very own labor rates.

But the commission’s report pointed out that those prices have remained mainly unchanged in the past 14 yrs, and have not saved speed with increases in identical industries.

The report located that the selection of car body retailers functioning in Massachusetts has declined by 6.5{e3fa8c93bbc40c5a69d9feca38dfe7b99f2900dad9038a568cd0f4101441c3f9} because 2018, when they have been about 1,800 retailers statewide. As of 2020 they ended up 1,686 auto stores.

In the meantime, vocational educational institutions have seen a fall in enrollment in car overall body repair applications with students picking out other trades, the report’s authors pointed out.

“There has been a continual problem about the vehicle body industry’s workforce, specifically for collision restore experts,” the report’s authors wrote. “This sentiment has been repeated by car physique shop owners, dealerships, and vocational school associates.”

Panelist Evangelos “Blessed” Papageorg, govt director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Automotive Company Suppliers, explained the suggestions, if carried out, will institute a “reimbursement fee which demonstrates the skills, financial investment and legal responsibility connected with collision repairs carried out in Massachusetts.”

The panel’s report has been sent to the Dwelling Strategies and Signifies Committee for consideration.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and sites. E-mail him at [email protected].