A huge geography with a sparse population makes Saskatchewan an interesting situation. Although it is a smaller province with public-owned insurer, SGI, the province illustrates how the collision and insurance industries can work together for positive results. 

On stage at the CCIF day of March’ AIA National Conference in Toronto the perhaps-unlikely team of Tom Bissonnette, executive director of The Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers (SAAR) and the former owner of Parr Auto Body in Saskatoon, joined forces with Ryan Smith, vice president of claims at Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), to explain how open dialogue between shops and insurers has led to cost-effective, advanced repair techniques and efficient repair times. 

The insurer and the industry have found each other productive partners in attaining their mutual goals: safe, high-quality repairs and standards of accreditation. Operating at around $2MM the average shop would be considered ‘small’ in many parts of Canada and need every ally they can muster. Supporting SAAR members to achieve I-CAR standards and equip shops with the necessary equipment to achieve quality demonstrates the insurer’s awareness that shops need achieve high standards and that they need to be paid for repairs at rates that make that possible. 

SAAR and SGI have cooperated to make headway on photo estimating, repair/replace decisions and reducing repair cycle-time. The result has been better industry relations, trust and positive consumer awareness. Town Halls with repairers and SGI interacting have made progress like working together on initiatives like the Safe and Quality Auto Repair Project (SQARP); SGI conducts training and educational sessions as part of the SQARP project. 

Smith and Bissonnette both emphasized that cooperation between the shops and insurer may not be an easy path but the parties are motivated by their common goals. As a result the industry in Saskatchewan is moving forward to achieve higher standards, promote retention and provide better repairs.  

Photo credit: L’Association des industries de l’automobile du Canada (AIA Canada) / Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada).