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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 37 / Issue 5 / May 2019
Body Shop Owner ‘Tired & Sick’ of Lack of Accountability From CDI, Insurers
Rick Johnson Named CAA’s Newest Executive Director
by Ed Attanasio
by Ed Attanasio
Most of us are probably familiar with this famous line screamed by a TV ex-anchorman while on air in the film “Network” (1976): “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Doug Marshall, the owner of Autotrends in Oakland, CA, can relate. He has filed more than 100 complaints with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) in the last decade with little satisfaction. He reached his breaking point after a recent case involving Farmer’s Insurance.
He eventually won the case on behalf of his customer, but Marshall isn’t happy about how it went down. “All I want them to do is what they’re supposed to do,” he said. “The insurance companies know that there is no accountability or enforcement, so they aren’t worried about them. It’s a complete waste of time, and that’s why I have been filing fewer complaints altogether within the past two years.” Most shops don’t have the time to file complaints and go to court. There is the fear factor as well. See Tired & Sick, Page 6
Sponsor, Repairer: Texas Insurer-OEM Procedure Bill Needed to Give TDI Power by John Huetter, RepairerDrivenNews.com
The bill’s sponsor and the head of the Auto Body Association of Texas told a Texas House Insurance Committee on April 9, that House Bill 1348 was necessary following what they said was the Texas Department of Insurance’s view that it was powerless to check certain insurer behavior. HB 1348 will hold insurers to OEM repair procedures. It declares that a carrier can’t “disregard a repair operation or cost identified by an estimating system, including the system’s procedural pages and any repair,
process, or procedure recommended by the original equipment manufacturer of a part or product.” In addition to demanding insurers acknowledge repair procedure, the bill defines “(r)easonable and necessary amount” as “the amount determined by the original equipment manufacturer’s manufacturer and estimating systems required to repair a vehicle to the condition before the covered damage to the vehicle occurred.” It also defines “like kind and quality” for aftermarket parts and adSee TDI Bill Page 4
Rick Johnson, a former body shop owner who has been a leader in the collision repair industry for nearly 40 years, was named the new executive director of the California Autobody Association (CAA). After a statewide search for new leadership, Johnson recently accepted the position and is already formulating new and exciting plans for the future of CAA. Johnson has been involved with CAA since 1980 and is coming out of semi-retirement to assume the leadership role. “I have seen CAA grow as this industry has changed in many ways,
so I know how the organization can help body shops in the state on many levels,” Johnson said. “Adapting to those changes and embracing new technology to stay connected with our members and attracting new people are [some] of our main goals. I was CAA president in 1999, a board member for eight years and I ran its CARPAC for a decade, so I have an inside perspective of what’s going on within the organization and know how to motivate others to get onboard and achieve our goals.” CAA began looking for a new executive director starting at the end of 2017 to replace David McClune, who retired. Don Feeley stepped See Rick Johnson, Page 23
Truck Topics is a new series of articles by Gary Ledoux to appear periodically in Autobody News covering the collision side of the heavy-duty truck market, see pp. 50 & 66
APCIA: OEM Procedure Bill Lacks Provision Preventing Body Shops Committing Fraud in Texas by John Huetter, RepairerDrivenNews.com
An APCIA representative on April 9 testified against a Texas bill compelling insurers to pay for the cost of repairs done to automaker specifications, arguing that the measure lacked confirmation body shops used them and suggesting some repairers might lie about it. American Property Casualty Insurance Association state government relations Vice President Joe Woods’ questionable testimony opposing House Bill 1348 also described adjusters as the line of defense for repair quality. HB 1348 will hold insurers to OEM repair procedures. It declares
that a carrier can’t “disregard a repair operation or cost identified by an estimating system, including the system’s procedural pages and any repair, process, or procedure recommended by the original equipment manufacturer of a part or product.” In addition to demanding insurers acknowledge repair procedure, the bill defines “(r)easonable and necessary amount” as “the amount determined by the original equipment manufacturer’s manufacturer and estimating systems required to repair a vehicle to the condition before the covered damage to the vehicle occurred.” It also defines “like kind and See APCIA Opposition Page 4
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