

It has been another busy week for SAAR. Lots of discussions on the go starting with the CPC-Crown and Central Agencies Caucus meeting on Wednesday February 17th. These government MLA’s asked us two questions:
- The new SGI accreditation tooling and training requirements are scheduled to take effect July 1st, 2021. How will the new tooling and training requirements affect your business?
- What new and or current approach should we put in place as a government to help the private sector transition to these new requirements?
We had a very good conversation with the MLA’s, and they have asked us to provide them a list of suggestions that pertain to the above questions.
If you would like to take a minute to give us your answers to these questions you can send them to dir@s-a-a-r.com and we will pass that information along.
On Thursday February 18th we met with SGI on the 2021 Rate Review issue. SGI replied to our rate review requests which we will take to our SAAR Executive to discuss in detail today, Monday February 22nd then we expect to reply back to them next week. Stay tuned!
We are finalizing plans to have a short online SAAR Annual General Meeting on Wednesday March 10th. We have invited SGI to host a “Town Hall Meeting” (similar to the events we had in the summer of 2019) during which they hopefully will announce the results of our Rate Review discussion. All this will be followed by Mike Anderson’s webinar on ADAS systems.
Mike Anderson
Registrations have been steadily coming in for Mike Anderson and Jake Rodenroth’s online training webinar discussing ADAS Calibrations on March 10th from 6 pm till 8 pm. This event is for SAAR members and our associates in BC and Manitoba so it will be directed to the government insurance market.
Your membership is all that is required as SAAR is picking up the cost of this event. You can now register online at Eventbrite here.
Scott Shkopich from UAP NAPA sends me a weekly web article that usually has some great articles in it, click on the link below to check out Mitch Becker’s terrific article
Vehicle Scanning and Recalibration Shockers
I sat down with Nick Dominato from adasThink just over a week ago and we discussed the possibility of SAAR members getting a special deal on this exciting new software. To find out more about it watch this short video.
Reports from shops that have used this software have been very positive and they have been surprised at the various calibrations and systems checks that they are missing and potentially sending their customers out in an unsafe motor vehicle!
This software tool is great for estimators and repair planners to use at the front end of the job so that they can identify and prepare the shop technicians to address all aspects of the ADAS repair process.
As a SAAR member you can access this software free of charge for your first 10 estimates then if you like it you can subscribe for a 25% discount for the next 24 months using the code SAAR25.
This program works out to less than $3.00 per estimate and it could save you some serious comebacks! You can order online at www.adasthink.com.
Larger subscriptions are available on request
The final quarter of 2020 report is now available from AutoHouse Technologies. You can view it here.
Average sales were down about 7% compared to the same time period in 2019.Our average claim severity is up .05% and interestingly enough, for the first time ever, according to SGI the parts portion of insurance claims has eclipsed the labor portion! Is it possible that the cost of parts is causing our severity to increase? Our average parts sale is up 10% year over year.
Surprisingly, Saskatchewan is the only province in Western Canada where the average sublet portion of the job went down from $166 in 2019 to $157 in 2020! Is it possible that shops in Sask. are subletting fewer repair procedures? Or are we just not getting paid enough for them?
Average labor hours in the three government insurance provinces went up a miniscule amount and compared to private insurance in Alberta, they are averaging about 20.5% less labor hours per job!
Saskatchewan still leads with the lowest average Cycle Time at 9.0 days and Alberta improved over a full day from last year but is still last at 12.5 days.
Saskatchewan leads the way in Average Touch Time with 2.6 hrs. per day, Alberta is lowest at 2.2 hrs. per day.
If you have not already done the 2021 Industry wage survey, please do so this week. Access it here so that I can report the results to you in the next week or so.
Please see below and plan to attend a Lunch & Learn on Thursday February 25th at 12 noon CT to see the NEW 3M Performance Spray Gun. Attending participants will be entered into a draw to win an Accuspray Primer gun. Please see attached file for testimonial and promotional videos and information. Let me know if you have any questions, bmacneil@mmm.com. Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting

I know you are all busy but you do remember Roger Cada from Accountable Estimating? His partner Scott Ellegood is teaming with Dave Luehr to provide this timely webinar on Thursday February 25th at 1 pm – don’t miss it! Documentation. This was a hot topic during last month’s Positivity Summit! With the recent changes in face-to-face interactions with payers, solid records and timely file closing is becoming more important than ever. Enter Scott Ellegood! Scott and the team at Accountable Estimating have decades of experience documenting collision damage and next Thursday, February 25th, at 1 he is going to share…how you can improve your documentation to gain full payment! Let’s Bulletproof Documentation This Year with a FREE Elite Webinar! |
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You’re invited to sign up to Canbaba here!
Canbaba is a brand new all Canadian bulk wholesaling marketplace where you can easily list, buy and sell wholesale equipment, supplies and inventory.
Suppliers: sign up to create your free virtual business storefront and unlimited product listings. Just set your minimum order quantity.
Shops: sign up to create your free buyer account to shop, compare and easily buy Canadian wholesale products.

Any of you that heard us speak at the last conference in Saskatoon know that we are very passionate about Critical Illness Insurance. We have been paid out personally, and we have paid out many clients with this benefit. Contact us to see how we can add this benefit to your financial plan to help protect you, your family, and your business.
Critical Illness Insurance gives you a lump sum payment if you are diagnosed with and survive an illness covered by your plan. Having this extra measure of financial security helps give you the freedom to concentrate on what is most important – your recovery.
Make it a part of your business.
Lee Campbell
306-649-4000 x. 104
lee.campbell@sunlife.com
Ken Campbell
306-649-4000 x. 103
ken.campbell@sunlife.com
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