How DRPs Are Holding Your Body Shop Back From Getting Paid What You Deserve

For years, Direct Repair Programs (DRPs) have been marketed to auto body shops as a way to streamline business, drive customer volume, and create “partnerships” with insurance carriers. But let’s call it what it is: a contract with conditions that often favor the insurer, not the shop.

While DRPs may seem like a reliable source of referrals, many body shops are beginning to realize that these programs can come at a high cost—one that shows up in suppressed labor rates, capped repair times, and limited autonomy when it comes to doing what’s right for the vehicle and the customer.

Agreed Labor Rates: Who Really Benefits?

One of the most glaring issues with DRPs is the concept of “agreed” labor rates. These rates are rarely negotiated in good faith. Instead, they’re dictated by insurers and often don’t reflect the current market, the rising cost of skilled labor, or the level of training and investment required to perform OEM-compliant repairs.

Body shops bound to a DRP agreement are frequently paid far less per hour than they would earn from non-DRP work—sometimes $10 to $20 per hour less. That kind of gap, multiplied across dozens of hours per job, adds up quickly and can significantly impact a shop’s profitability.

Agreed Repair Times: Doing More for Less

Beyond the labor rate, DRPs commonly impose “agreed times” for specific repair procedures. These times are often arbitrary, outdated, or simply insufficient for performing repairs to manufacturer standards.

Need to perform a pre-scan or post-scan? You might only be allowed 0.3 hours—regardless of the actual time or complexity involved.

Color tinting? Maybe they’ll pay 0.5 hours—if you’re lucky. This is despite the reality that matching today’s complex OEM finishes often takes much longer and requires skilled attention.

Shops end up absorbing these costs, either by rushing through processes, eating labor time, or skipping necessary steps—none of which benefit the vehicle owner or uphold the integrity of your work.

You're Not Alone—But You Do Need to Track It

Here’s the truth: Many shops are so focused on staying busy that they don’t stop to measure just how much money is being left on the table. That’s why we created the Body Shop Referral Tracker—a download available on our website.

This tool lets you easily track:

• How many vehicles are referred by DRPs

• Where the majority of your work comes from

• The true number of DRP jobs you receive

When you see the numbers in black and white, it becomes clear: DRPs are often helping the insurance companies far more than they’re helping your business.

It’s Time to Reclaim Control

As a shop owner, you have the right to be fairly compensated for your work. That means doing what’s right for the vehicle—not what’s cheapest for the insurer. You deserve to write your own repair plans based on actual procedures, labor, scans, calibrations, and all steps required to restore the vehicle to pre-loss condition.

DRPs may fill your bays, but they shouldn’t be allowed to empty your pockets.

Ready to see where you stand Download the the Body Shop Referral Tracker now at https://www.nexus-claims.com/product-page/body-shop-referral-tracker and start documenting the true count of where your jobs are coming from—and what you may be giving up by staying on the DRP list.

Would you like this formatted into a downloadable PDF for sharing or email use as well?