37 YEARS
SOUTHEAST EDITIO N
AUTOBODY AL / FL / GA / MS / NC / SC / TN / VA / WV
2018 Collision Repair Industry: A Year in Review by Chasidy Rae Sisk
From President Trump’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to the many tragic shootings and storms that have ravaged the United States in 2018, this year has been one of metamorphosis, altering reality and perception for many individuals. The same holds true for the collision repair industry and its associations, which have faced a variety of organizational changes and neverending updates in technology and requirements. As 2018 draws to a close, several association leaders were willing to share some feedback about their
associations’ best and most memorable changes this past year. Changes in leadership were a recurring theme that many associations saw in 2018. The Mississippi Collision Repair Association (MSCRA) received a new executive director, Ricki Garrett. Evangelos “Lucky” Papageorg began serving as executive director for AASP/MA. AASP/ NJ’s role of president has been filled by Jerry McNee. Tony Ferraiolo of the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) has passed the presidential gavel to Bob Amendola, and Michelle Sullivan assumed the See A Year in Review, Page 10
Automakers at OEM Summit Offer Updates on Certified Collision Repair Center Programs by John Yoswick
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) day-long OEM Col-
Nicole Riedel of Subaru said the automaker’s certified shop program will be opening up for independent shop participation
lision Repair Technology Summit held in Las Vegas during SEMA included updates from a number of automakers on their collision shop certification programs. Nicole Riedel of Subaru of America, for example, said that independent shops will soon be added to her company’s shop certification program that was launched with dealership shops this past June. “We have a little over 600 retailers across the U.S., and of that, at most one-third have collision centers,” Riedel said. “That’s not nearly See OEM Summit, Page 22
AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 9 / Issue 10 / December 2018
Progressive Corporation’s Appeal Dismissed by State Appeals Panel in FL by Emmariah Holcomb, glassBYTEs.com
Progressive Corporation’s appeal was dismissed by the state appeals panel in Florida in early November. The auto insurer has been accused of piling windshield replacement companies with the cost of insurance appraisals, according to court documents. Two years ago, four companies sued Progressive in a county court, claiming the company was in breach of contract for only paying a portion of covered windshield repairs. The four windshield replacement companies are: • • • •
SHL Enterprises LLC, Shazam Auto Glass LLC, Glassmetics LLC, and Lloyd’s of Shelton Auto Glass LLC
According to Progressive, its company policy includes an appraisal provision that works to resolve repair cost disputes. The windshield replacement companies claimed the appraisal provisions violated state law. According to the panel, the county court agreed and considered the provisions unenforceable because it requires windshield companies to pay for appraisal costs. The court claimed this was equivalent to a deductible. The appeals panel claimed the lower courts, who had previously viewed the case, misunderstood state laws after these instances:
• The lower courts referred to the company’s cost-shifting as a deductible, and See Appeal Dismissed, Page 9
11th Circuit Considers Whether to Reinstate Auto Insurance Price-Fixing Claims
ices by agreeing among themselves to pay a preset “market rate” and to enThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the force compliance by “steering” their Eleventh Circuit heard arguments Oct. insureds to businesses that play ball, 23 leveled by a group of auto body re- effectively boycotting other shops. pair shops claiming State Farm InsurIn addition to State Farm, the defendants include Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, Nationwide, USAA, Liberty Mutual and Hartford, among others. Sitting en banc, the judges were considering whether to keep alive multidistrict litigation that was tossed out by a district judge for failure to Mark Shurtleff (left) and John Eaves. Republished with state a claim, then revived by permission. Credit: John Disney, ALM/Daily Report a split panel last year. ance and a host of other national The cases have been combined carriers are conspiring to fix prices. in Florida’s Middle District, and the The plaintiffs say the insurers instant appeals represent five of 14 have conspired to drive down the similar complaints combined in the prices they’re charged for repair servSee Price-Fixing Claims, Page 16 by Greg Land, Daily Report
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