Advanced vehicle technology may cause debate in the future about “cosmetic” versus “functional” repairs: CCIF Toronto meeting

The increasing integration of advanced vehicle technology (AVT) into vehicle design means insurers will have difficult decisions to make in the future about financing “cosmetic” versus “functional” repairs, delegates at the Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) heard in Toronto on Jan. 28.
In a panel discussion, presenters and audience members – including collision repair centre representatives, insurers and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) – primarily discussed the technical and specialized training required to repair AVT.
Examples of AVT include the use of high strength steels, aluminum, carbon fibre, welding and bonding techniques, electronic vehicles/hybrids, electronic safety features, etc.
One panel discussed how AVT might reshape the collision repair industry. During it, audience member Ken Boulton, manager of vendor programs at The Dominion, stood up to ask a question of the panel (he was speaking for himself and not as a representative of The Dominion).
Boulton asked panelists what kind of repairs might be considered “good enough” with the advent of increasingly expensive new vehicle technologies. Other audience members and panelists observed that insurers might have tough decisions to make about writing off vehicles that are simply not worth repairing, since AVT makes them too costly to repair.
“The request for a new mirror on a 1974 Cordoba with 450,000 miles on it makes the point that by replacing the mirror, you are only making the rest of the car look bad,” Boulton said.
Boulton said consumers’ expectations about repairing a vehicle back to its original state will increase as the vehicles come equipped with more advanced technology. And even if the repair meets legal standards, the customer’s expectations about a repair could be higher. This may lead to a discussion in the future about what types of repairs insurers should be expected to pay for.
Larry Jeffries, a former CCIF chairman, said that as AVT becomes more integrated into the car’s design, questions would likely arise as to whether repairs are “functional” (necessary) or “cosmetic.”
“This kind of thing is going to get worse, because most AVT are integrated with the bumpers and grills and all of this kind of stuff,” said panelist Michel Matte of BMW Group Canada. “And if by chance you happen to be cosmetically repairing other parts of the car just to get to that [central damaged part], is that a byproduct of the repair that’s required or is it something that is really required?”