NRMA Insurance has extended its online tender-based vehicle repair service to NSW, much to the chagrin of the smash repairer industry.

The service – which more than 80% of preferred repairers are now signed up for – involves assessors creating a detailed scope of the work required on damaged vehicles and making this information available on the internet for tender by repairers.

But more than 1200 smash repair workers spoke out against the system last week, marching on the NRMA’s headquarters in Sydney’s George Street at a rally organised by the Motor Traders’ Association (MTA) of NSW.

Arguing the service undermines competitive pricing and seriously compromises the quality of repairs, protestors handed out pamphlets that accused NRMA of “forcing smash repairers to provide quotes for damaged vehicles from images on the web” and ignoring their concerns.

But NRMA Insurance CEO Rick Jackson is uncompromising in his response. He says the service has led to high customer satisfaction and quality levels, and the MTA should stop using “scare tactics” to hide its “real agenda of protecting inefficient practices”.

“This issue is about competitiveness and efficiency,” he said. “There are twice as many repairers per car in Australia than there are in the UK, and that’s clearly not sustainable. Like all businesses, you can choose to embrace competition and deliver a superior service, or you can fear it. The vast majority of our repairers in our network are embracing it.”