Newly released J.D. Power research found 82 percent of customers with repairable vehicles went to an insurer’s direct repair program facility — up from 75 percentage points just a few years ago.

“Use of DRP shops has increased a significant 7 percentage points since 2017 and a significant 4 percentage points since 2019,” J.D. Power wrote.

The data came from the 2020 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, which ran from November 2019 through September. It surveyed 11,055 people who filed a claim within the six months prior to being contacted. (So we’re potentially talking folks whose cars you fixed between May 2019 and September). J.D. Power didn’t count glass-only or stolen-car claims.

J.D. Power didn’t list the percentage of that study set with repairable vehicles, but CCC total loss data suggests around 20 percent of vehicles end up totaled.

In 2017, three-fourths of customers used DRP facilities, 12 percent used non-DRP sites, and 14 percent didn’t know if their body shop was affiliated, according to J.D. Power. In 2020, 82 percent of customers used a DRP shop, 9 percent of customers reported using non-DRP locations, and 9 percent didn’t know their shop’s status.

J.D. Power property and casualty insurance intelligence head Tom Super said Tuesday his company didn’t view the 4-point change in customers knowing their facility’s DRP status as significant.

Learn how to compete for customers at Repairer Driven Education

Searching for ways to attract customers without a DRP? Learn more about marketing your auto body shop and leveraging your OEM certifications at the Society of Collision Repair Specialists virtual Repairer Driven Education series next week. Mike Anderson of Collision Advice and David Gruskos of Reliable Automotive Equipment will present “Leveraging Your OEM Certifications,” and Robert Grieve of Nylund’s Collision Center and Eric Reamer of Niche PR & Media will teach “Marketing in 2020: Will People Find You? What Will They See?” Regular RDE classes cost $75, and the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit runs $150. Or purchase a full series pass for $375 and go to anything you want. The entire virtual RDE lineup will be available to replay on demand through Aug. 31, 2021.

DRP shops have also been delivering increasingly higher customer satisfaction than non-DRP shops over those four years, according to J.D. Power’s data.

Back in 2017, customers who patronized DRP facilities posted overall satisfaction of 873 out of 1,000. Non-DRP users came in at 846. By 2020, the spread had widened to an 888 satisfaction score for DRP customers and 844 for non-DRP customers.

The growing DRP market share might be disheartening to shops who choose not to participate in DRPs or who can’t get on one. But unaffiliated repairers still have cards to play.

The non-DRP Nylund’s Collision Center has shown how a little thought into one’s online presence can pull in customers. New consolidator Quality Collision Group plans to rely more on OEM certifications than DRPs to attract work.

And CCC data shows that despite insurers serving up customers on a platter, DRPs still can’t always close the deal — particularly on heavier-hit vehicles.

The 2020 “Crash Course” reported that for the year ending in the third quarter of 2019, DRP shops captured the keys on 70.3 percent of appraisals. (This appears to be a reference to the subset of initial appraisals generated by the DRP shop instead of the insurer or some other party, but it wasn’t entirely clear from the report.)

In instances where the appraisal was for more than $10,000, this success rate fell to 59 percent. CCC data also DRPs are also notably below average on appraisals through $1,000, but this might reflect customers cashing out or deterred by a deductible.

More information:

“Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction Climbs to Record High as Carriers Refine Customer Experience During Pandemic, J.D. Power Finds”

J.D. Power, Oct. 22, 2020

Recently released J.D. Power research found 82 percent of customers with repairable claims used direct repair program auto body shops. (mathisworks/iStock)

The 2020 CCC “Crash Course” reported that for the year ending in the third quarter of 2019, DRP shops captured the keys on 70.3 percent of appraisals. (This appears to be a reference to the subset of initial appraisals generated by the DRP shop instead of the insurer or some other party, but it wasn’t entirely clear from the report.) (Provided by CCC)