OEMs, Insurers To Place More Emphasis On Collision Repair Certification

OEM and insurer telematics first notice of loss systems will soon reduce the volume seen by uncertified collision repairers, Certified Collision Group CEO Bruce Bares predicted Thursday. Bares said both OEMs and insurers will roll out the telematics to detect a crash and try to sell the customer on a shop within their network — but both entities will only push OEM-certified repairers. “This is all coming together in the first quarter,” Bares said, describing two of the Top 10 insurers as working on such an initiative. He described seeing from a specific Top 10 carrier (it’s unclear if it was one of those two) software which will match a policyholder with a shop certified for their vehicle.