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VOL. 4 ISSUE 10 DECEMBER 2013
Collision Repair Classes, Meetings and Exhibitors Attract Shops to Largest SEMA Ever by John Yoswick
The 2013 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show attracted more than 126,000 people—attendees and exhibitor representatives—to Las Vegas in November, filling the massive Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding spaces with all things automotive. Show organizers say that count was up 7 percent over the previous year and was the highest ever. The collision repair and refinish section of the show boasted just over 200 exhibitors, a small but rapidly growing percentage of the more than 2,300 companies and organizations exhibiting at SEMA this year.
Although attendees could easily spend several days on the show floor to see it all, there were a number of meetings, events and classes specific to those in the collision repair industry.
SCRS Holds Open Meeting The Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS’) partnership with SEMA, which began in 2010, has proven beneficial for the show as well as the association. As it has in the past, SCRS held an open meeting on the show floor one evening to highlight both some industry news and some of the association’s recent activities. A year after Toyota used the meeting to introduce its concept of “preMopar President and CEO Pietro Gorlier, right, dictive estimating,” the automaker and Mark Trostle, Chrysler Design, on the announced at this year’s SCRS meetMopar-Modified Ram Sun Chaser concept vehicle at the SEMA Show. (Courtesy Chrysler) ing a partnership with Mitchell Inter-
Florida Appelate Court Ruling Reinstates No-Fault, May Be Temporary, Circuit Judge Overruled ruled that Tallahassee Circuit Judge Terry Lewis was wrong when he sided with physical therapists and other health care providers challenging the 2012 law. The Court of Appeal ruled that a group of chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists lacked standing to bring their case. Lewis suspended the part of the law that requires a finding of emergency medical condition and prohibits payments to acupuncturists, massage therapists and chiropractors. He said the law violates the right of access to the courts found in the Florida ConSee No-Fault Reinstated, Page 22
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The 1st District Court of Appeal ruling means that a 2012 law aimed at reducing fraud and lowering no-fault auto insurance claims has been reinstated, at least for now, by an appellate court ruling overturning a lower court decision to grant a temporary injunction against the law. Florida is one of 10 states that uses personal injury protection (PIP) auto insurance, also known as “no fault” insurance. In Florida, drivers get up to $10,000 in medical coverage without having to go to court to establish fault in an auto accident. The 1st District Court of Appeal
Here are some of the highlights.
pecial SSEMA
Coverage coverage Pages: 1, 11, 26, 28, 31, 32 and 37
See Biggest SEMA Ever, Page 4
PartsTrader, Insurer Mandates Draw Industry Ire at Collision Industry Conference Held with SEMA by John Yoswick
Following a panel discussion on parts procurement at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Las Vegas in early November, attendees spent nearly an hour voicing criticism of mandated use of any particular system. Tom McGarry of Axalta Coatings ProfitNet Management System noted that unlike several other systems, PartsTrader interfaces with estimating systems but not management systems. He also said a shop ordering parts might need to use one Tom McGarry electronic system in order to receive an automaker rebate, but the shop’s preferred vendor might use a different system, with State Farm requiring yet another. “It’s not a procurement decision anymore; it’s a marketing decision,” McGarry said. “How do you handle that?” Nebraska shop owner Andy Dingman, who participated on the
CIC panel, agreed that shops could be faced with using multiple systems. “And that’s going to be very efficient,” he added, sarcastically. California shop owner Randy Stabler, also on the panel, agreed. “The challenge here is the insurance community doesn’t understand by and large that when they increase the body shop’s costs, they have to pay for it somewhere,” Stabler said. “Lowering the payout isn’t increasing efficiency. If the insurers could take that Randy Stabler back to their corporations and figure out ways to reduce the body shop’s operating costs, then they can share in it, but reducing the payout doesn’t increase efficiency.” Stabler also said, however, that he’s “kind of perplexed” why the PartsTrader mandate has become “such a lightening rod” for an industry that has been accepting insurer mandates since the early days of computerized estimating. See Industry Ire, Page 16
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