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same length as several replacement columns the shop ordered. So what should a shop do in such instances? “That’s the question we’re trying to get some clarifi cation for from the vehicle manufacturers,” Bartanen said, saying in the case of the GM column, the shop installed the replacement part given the column in the car was even 5 mm shorter than the replacement part. “The people I’ve talked to are, for the most part, putting the old column back in if it’s measuring the same as the replacement column.” Bartanen said the discrepancy could be based on data from OEM engineering drawings not matching the actual part once it went into production. In some cases, it could be shops are not measuring the columns correctly; he said Subaru is one automaker that provides better illustrations than some other automakers as to what distances on the columns are See Measurement Issues, Page 16 by Jeffrey N. Ross, Motorious

Over his lifetime, it’s estimated

Phil Deegan owned 150 cars, and his home in Mankato, MN, is said to have always displayed an assortment of classic cars and trucks. So it makes total sense that after Deegan passed away July 14, his funeral procession would be a rolling tribute to the automotive enthusiast.

Credit: KEYC News At the funeral service, a group of classic cars and trucks lined the church’s parking lot, and this was followed by a procession of classic vehicles to the cemetery, including a 1964-66 Chevy C10 that carried Thousands of auto insurance policyholders in Ohio will soon be paying less on premiums as insurance giant State Farm announces plans to cut rates for drivers in the state by 14.3%. The reduction is expected to save the insurers’ 1.9 million customers in the Buckeye

State an estimated $174.1 million. The decrease applies to current policyholders at renewal, as well as new and returning clients. The cut comes after State

Farm’s announcement in May that it was working to reduce rates in every state by an average of 11%.

Once implemented, customers of the country’s largest auto insurer could save a total of $2.2 billion. “Current State Farm driving data and claims experience show a considerable decline in miles driven and fewer accidents,” said

Robert Stewart, the fi rm’s senior vice president. “As a result, we’re looking for ways to continue supporting our Ohio customers while we monitor and adjust to trends.” Will others follow? his coffi n in the cargo bed. In a video report from KEYC News, Deegan’s son, Dan, said his father “loved anything with wheels on it and anything with a motor in it,” while his obituary shows an enthusiast who enjoyed collecting and restoring classic vehicles, including tractors. It went on to say that any time the weather was nice, Deegan would have his cars cleaned up to show them off in his front yard. Deegan died with family by his side, and he was even able to take one fi nal ride in one of his cars just hours before passing away. His funeral took place on July 21, and family, friends and visitors were encouraged to bring their classic vehicles. The procession of cars ranged from hot rods to muscle cars and just about every type of classic car you could imagine, including an old Ford dump truck. When it’s your time to go, we couldn’t think of a better way to be remembered. State Farm’s move may prompt other state insurers to follow suit, said Dean Fadel, president of the Ohio Insurance Institute. “State Farm is the market share leader in Ohio, and sometimes what the market share leader

does aff ects what others may decide to do,” he told The Times-Reporter. However, James Lynch, chief actuary of the Insurance Information Institute, explained to The Times-Reporter that some insurers in the state have already off ered rate cuts. “Diff erent insurance companies are taking diff erent approaches to this,” he said. “Some are handling this as time passes by extending credits. Some other companies have done what State Farm is doing.” Among these companies is State Auto Financial, which started slashing premiums at renewal by 5% in April. “As the driving public gets back behind the wheel, we plan to build additional benefi t of the slowdown into future rates, on a state-by-state basis, and based on

frequency and severity trends at the local level,” the insurer said in a statement. “To the extent that lower miles driven or claims volume persists, we will take that favorability into account in future renewal rates. Some of this favorability may be off set by higher repair costs driven by more high-speed crashes and

We thank Insurance Business America for reprint permission.

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Classic Car Procession Celebrates Lifelong Enthusiast

higher auto repair shop costs.”

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