SAMBRA NEWS

 

Price Wars & Insurance Tenders

 

In the ongoing supply and demand cycle in collision repair the fact that often there are many repairers out there chasing too little repair work is a big factor in this business and a few key principle areas then develop.

Firstly, repairers start to seek guaranteed volume increases and alternatively insurers have introduced an objective selective criteria demand to help them contain premium increases and also to try and cap the cost of last year’s repair bills.

 

A third fact is that the repair labour rate is at a constantly low level so in this price war repairers are often in a situation where they’re doing more work for a lot less or at worst the same remuneration.

It would be nice to gain some ethical parameters, the same type that’s enjoyed by mechanical repairs in dealerships where in a depressionary cycle no drop in labour rates is seen on work carried out. With top insurance houses like Santam now looking to keep a competitive edge there could be a ray of common sense on the horizon. They have realised that long term successful relationships can be developed on both a volume basis for work supply and also on a level of guaranteed profitability and not on promised but undelivered dreams of profits.

 

They’re now using this tool to negotiate better rates on their contracts to repair damaged vehicles by embarking on a policy of increasing labour rates based on new criteria of repair. It’s better than a replacement in some cases. It could be a mixed bag if Santam offer the best repair rates as they can dictate in a depressed state of work flow just what the rate of repair for labour can be set at before any body shop receives the work.

 

Debtors Department

 

This service to assist members with poor paying insurance clients where overdue amounts are already held or seen above 45 days outstanding. The South African Motor Body Repair Association have implemented this help for a fee of 1% of the invoice or a minimum of R250 per claim a special debt recovery operation on outstanding debts.

 

The process is a simple one for no debt will be recovered without the lodging of R250 of the fee and claims will also only be taken care of with the full necessary details and duly signed documents from the claimant.

The facilitation for payments outstanding their claims will be handled on a national basis from our six regional centres in Gauteng, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape centres.