GEICO released an updated standardized pricing sheet Monday for asTech scans and collaborations following  “discussion and feedback,” according to an email to Auto Repair Xpress (ARX) Network shops, provided to Repairer Driven News (RDN). 

The insurance company announced an agreement for standardized pricing with asTech earlier this month. The announcement was instantly met with criticism from independent collision repair shops on social media and during a Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting held in Denver.

Concerns about the agreement attempting to establish “standardized” or prevailing market prices for scanning and calibration operations have been raised. Another criticism is that it appears GEICO will prioritize the recommendation of asTech’s Rules Engine on whether an aftermarket scan is a sufficient replacement for an OEM scan; which was not amended in the updated Monday email communication. 

Per GEICO’s price sheet, it appears it has increased the price it established with asTech for OEM pre-scans with remote support and OEM post-scans with remote support including DTC clear, steering angle sensor, and seat weight sensor. 

Prices were also increased for Level 3 static calibrations, Level 4 static calibrations on Mercedes and Subaru, and Level 5 static calibrations on Audi, Volkswagen, and Porsche. 

GEICO also provided an updated part code master table Monday, with prices and labor hours specified, and asked all shops to load it into the GEICO profiles. It reminds shops that the table may not be all-inclusive and all items are considered for negotiation with supporting documentation to substantiate any changes or alterations. 

The email also notes that asTech will hold a webinar on Aug. 6, a day after the prices are implemented. 

asTech has yet to respond to questions RDN first attempted to ask at CIC’s Denver meeting July 10 and via multiple email follow-ups in the weeks that have followed. Questions have included but are not limited to if there was a contract for the agreement, if it reached out to GEICO first or if it is discussing or planning to discuss similar agreements with other insurance companies. 

Tuesday morning, after RDN’s deadline, asTech sent a statement from its president Craig Edmonds. The statement did not answer the above questions.

“Earlier, we announced a standardized pricing agreement structure with GEICO,” Edmonds says in the statement. “After continued collaboration with our customers and GEICO, we are pleased to announce that we have revised the pricing structure to better address the needs of our customers directly.

“Our primary goal with this agreement remains to reduce friction and streamline the scanning, programming, and calibration process for all our customers through a consistent, efficient, and transparent pricing model. The revised pricing for OEM Scans as well dynamic and static calibrations has been designed to better suit the needs of each shop.

“We remain open to ongoing dialogue with the collision repair community to ensure transparency and address any misconceptions. We are committed to supporting our customers and the industry through this transition and beyond.”

Mike Anderson, owner of Collision Advice, said Monday that the updated pricing doesn’t change his concerns about the agreement, which he first voiced at CIC’s Denver meeting. 

“The software rules engines is saying whether an OEM or aftermarket scan is needed,” Anderson said. “In my mind, it has to be OEM all the time.” 

GEICO’s original email said it would base considerations for pre- and post-scans on the recommendations from asTech’s Rules Engine. 

“The Rules Engine uses data from tens of thousands of scans to determine when a remote OEM scan is needed or when a local OEM-compatible scan can be used, which has been verified to yield equivalent results to that of an OEM tool,” the original email says. “GEICO shops using the asTech Rules Engine will be eligible for an OEM or OEM-compatible scan if they correctly follow the Rules Engine process in selecting the appropriate scan for the vehicle.” 

OEM scan tools are important in the collision repair industry, Anderson said. 

“We have to confirm what is working and not working,” Anderson said. “We need OEM scan tools because they have access to the build data.”

Anderson said he also has concerns that the prices don’t appear to include vehicle prep or in-process scans. Fuel levels, tire pressures, hooking up battery support and diagnostic work are examples of vehicle prep not included in the pricing, he said. In-process scans are completed after a vehicle is reassembled and before any calibration or test drive, he said. 

“In-process scans need to be done to repair the vehicle,” Anderson said. 

During the CIC meeting, Michael Bradshaw, vice president of K&M collision in North Carolina, also noted that the new asTech pricing sheet for scans includes operations such as seat weight and steering angle calibrations, which are often considered additional operations by other scan tools. 

Jason Vilardi, asTech insurance and estimatics vice president, responded during the meeting that those were already included in asTech’s post-scan diagnostics and that it wasn’t a change made with the agreement. He did say there would be some changes to services, including removing some operations. 

However, an emailed invoicing update sent to asTech customers days later noted changes would be made to its diagnostic post-scans on Aug. 5. 

“For our OEM post-scans, our diagnostic fee will include fault code clearing, seat weight, and steering angle operations,” the email said. “Your shop will now receive an invoice for all other initializations and resets. This includes Lift Gate Initialization, Active Head Restraint Reset, Grille Shutter Initialization, etc.” 

Other scanning and calibration companies have made public statements in recent days indirectly referring to the asTech/GEICO agreement. 

“AirPro Diagnostics will not replicate the recent actions of other companies in our industry. We reject the idea of engaging in any pricing negotiations with entities other than our direct customers — the repairers,” a LinkedIn post says. 

Adi Bathla, CEO of Revv, posted, “Last week, a significant partnership was announced between a major insurance company and a diagnostic provider. It was big news for the ADAS industry. As we reassured our customers last week, Revv is totally independent and committed to the repair industry. We’re dedicated to quality, transparent pricing, and customer safety. We’re here to help collision repair and ADAS calibration centers improve profitability, save time, and mitigate liability.” 

asTech started as a passthrough to OEM, Anderson said. 

“There was no mention to aftermarket,” Anderson said. “It appears that due to industry pressure from whoever, whether carriers or shops or whatever, their original model has changed.” 

As recently as 2021, asTech made public comments that only OEM scan tools were acceptable for collision repair.

Five months after asTech announced Edmonds as its new president, GEICO announced its agreement to standardize pricing. Between 1987 and 2023 Edmonds held executive leadership roles at Progressive and Allstate. 

From 2020 through 2023 Edmonds served as vice president of auto for Allstate, which included nationwide responsibility for Allstate Auto Physical Damage claim operations.

In 2022, it was announced that Allstate added asTech as a “preferred diagnostic scanning provider” for collision centers participating in its Good Hands Repair Network (GHRN). The announcement was made by Repairify, a portfolio company of Kinderhook, which also owns multiple automotive platforms, including the recent purchase of Kaizen Auto Care — a regional collision provider that promotes its “high-quality customer service and repairs to customers, fostering strong partnership with its insurance carriers.”

Images:

A GEICO van is seen Oct. 16, 2011, at the Houston Air Show at Ellington International Airport. (Lanie/iStock)