New Jersey Automotive June 2015

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THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALLIANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE PROVIDERS/NEW JERSEY (www.AASPNJ.org) AND THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY (www.ARANJ.org)

TM

June 2015 $595

Molding the Industry’s Future at SkillsUSA

FAIR, REASONABLE & PROFITABLE:

www.grecopublishing.com

Exploring the Variable Rate System

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P.O. Box 734 Neptune, NJ 07753 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Charles Bryant 732-922-8909 / setlit4u@msn.com 2013 - 2015 OFFICERS PRESIDENT Jeff McDowell, Leslie’s Auto Body 732-738-1948 / chacki@aol.com COLLISION CHAIRMAN Dave Laganella, Peters Body and Fender 201-337-1200 / petersbandf@gmail.com MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN Keith Krehel, Krehel Automotive Repair, Inc. 973-546-2828 / krehelauto@aol.com

CONTENTS

VOLUME 45, NUMBER 6 | June 2015

8

OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES 10 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

14 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 58 NJA ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

COVER STORY

TREASURER Tom Elder, Compact Kars, Inc. 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com SECRETARY Thomas Greco, Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 973-667-6922 / thomas@grecopublishing.com BOARD Jerry McNee, Ultimate Collision Repair, Inc. 732-494-1900 / ultimatecollision@att.net

Sam Mikhail, Prestige Auto Body 908-789-2020 / mikhail@goldcar.com Ted Rainer, Ocean Bay Auto Body 732-899-7900 / trainer@verizon.net

Anthony Sauta, East Coast Auto Body 732-869-9999 / ecabofnj@aol.com

Randy Scoras, Holmdel Auto Body 732-946-8388 / randy@holmdelautobody.com

Anthony Trama, Bloomfield Auto Body 973-748-2608 / anthony@bloomfieldautobody.com BOARD ALLIED Joe Amato, The Amato Agency 732-530-6740 / joesr@amatoagency.com

Mike Kaufmann, Advantage Dealer Services 973-332-7014 / mkaufmann@advantageds.com PAST PRESIDENT ATTENDING Tom Elder, Compact Kars 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com

25 11th Annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing Highlights Photos by Jacquelyn Bauman and Frank Ingram

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

20 Introducing FASTLIGN®: A New Era of Customer Service

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

by Mitch Portnoi

32 Insurance Law: A General Outline

FEATURES

38 Molding the Industry’s Future at SkillsUSA Coverage and Photos by Jacquelyn Bauman

42 The Real Deal on Auto Education: A Conversation with I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne - Part 1

by Joel Gausten

48 Fair, Reasonable & Profitable: Exploring the Variable Rate System PUBLISHER Thomas Greco (thomas@grecopublishing.com) DIRECTOR OF SALES Alicia Figurelli (alicia@grecopublishing.com) EDITOR Joel Gausten (tgpjoel@verizon.net)

MANAGING EDITOR Jacquelyn Bauman (jacquelyn@grecopublishing.com) ART DIRECTOR Lea Velocci (lea@grecopublishing.com)

OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco (donna@grecopublishing.com)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Charles Bryant • Tom Greco • Jeff McDowell Mitch Portnoi • Dave Laganella • Ron Ananian

Published by: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ 07110 Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com

by Joel Gausten

55 AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY Wharton Insurance Briefs

The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers/New Jersey Joe Amato, Sr. Ron Ananian Jim Bowers Charles Bryant Don Chard Guy Citro Ed Day Dave Demarest

HALL OF FAME

Tom Elder Bob Everett Thomas Greco Rich Johnson Wes Kearney Nick Kostakis Jim Kowalak Joe Lubrano

Michael Lovullo Sam Mikhail Ron Mucklow George Petrask Russ Robson Jerry Russomano George Threlfall

Cynthia Tursi Lee Vetland Paul Vigilant Rich Weber Brian Vesley Glenn Villacari Stan Wilson

NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published monthly and is sent to AASP/NJ and ARANJ members free of charge. Subscriptions are $24 per year. NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc., 244 Chestnut St., Nutley, NJ 07110. The editorial contents of NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE are copyright © 2015 by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher and/or editor. Articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. Cover and Images courtesy of www.istockphoto.com.

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OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

Goodnight, Dave

by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER

As I’m sitting down to write this, I happen to have The Late Show with David Letterman on in the background. It’s Letterman’s last week and he is having just about every major celebrity of the last few decades walk out and say goodbye. Right now, Tom Hanks is doing a pretty funny bit about drones.

In the last few weeks, I have seen Letterman everywhere. Magazines, newspapers, online...all celebrating Dave’s more than 30 years on the air. All of them praising and paying tribute really reminds me of something: How much I miss Johnny Carson.

I NEVER liked David Letterman. As a late night TV aficionado, I resented him from the start for replacing one of my favorites, Tom Snyder. In all fairness, Letterman did give Snyder his own show a few years later, but that wasn’t enough for me. The first impression is always important,

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and I never got over my initial dislike.

However, I have to say that once Letterman does leave, late night TV will have made the final transition to the new breed of hosts, the ones I refer to as the “ME” hosts.

Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, all of their shows are basically one-hour advertisements for their egos. None of them can interview a lick, and 75 percent of the show is made up of skits and parodies that they can’t wait to see online the next morning.

It didn’t used to be that way. Carson was always about his guests and how he played off them. The humor was in the conversation, not the scripts written by a bunch of writers in an office somewhere.

To his credit, Letterman tried to carry that spirit on. But as he got older, he became crankier and more and more political. Carson always did political humor, but he aimed

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at both parties. Letterman, unfortunately like the rest of the country, seemed to take a side, and that gets stale quickly. There are only so many Sarah Palin jokes to go around.

There are two things that Letterman was outstanding at. The first is that he always had a lot of great bands you never got to see anywhere else on TV. The second was his monologue the first day back after 9/11. Love him or hate him, you had to be moved by his emotional, inspiring and patriotic speech about that horrific event. For that alone, he should be lauded.

But he’s still no Carson.

This month, my daughter is graduating college and my son is graduating high school. I’m going to need a month to contemplate that before I can write about it. See you next month…

NJA

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT YOU

by JEFF MCDOWELL

All it takes is a look through the pages of this month’s New Jersey Automotive to see the incredibly strong network of support that exists in our local industry. I am writing this

message on the heels of AASP/NJ’s recent Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing, where dozens of shops and numerous vendors and industry professionals braved the chilly weather to gather,

enjoy each others’ company and honor one of our own. From the participation of all our players to the incredibly generous support of our event and prize sponsors, I would like to personally thank everyone who came out to make this year’s Golf Outing a fantastic event. Your involvement made it fun and enjoyable; best of all, it helped recognize a future industry member who will be gifted a special scholarship in Lou’s name (funded in part by proceeds from this event).

Speaking of the next generation of collision repairers, AASP/NJ was one of many industry-leading entities who were supporters of the 2015 NJ SkillsUSA State Championships. We are proud to be one of many sponsors of this great event, which helps further the repairers of tomorrow – and ultimately helps ensure a stable, qualified workforce to continue to flow into our industry.

Turn to page 25 and page 38 and join me in acknowledging the many great businesses whose support helps fuel events like SkillsUSA, our Golf Outing and so many others. In an industry where there are so many elements working against us every day, these companies are wholeheartedly showing that they are on our side – the side of furthering the automotive repair industry now and into the future. When considering your next purchase of products or services, turn to them first, because they have proven time and time again that their commitment to this workforce is just as strong as ours.

Again, on behalf of AASP/NJ, thanks very much to those who support our efforts year-round. It is greatly appreciated.

NJA

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Relief is Really on the Way!

To those who sometimes say, “Things will never change,” I say think again! When people do bad things and repeatedly get away with it, people tend to think that change will never come. In our industry, insurance companies’ bad behavior is a typical example of this. When I say bad behavior, I am referring to certain insurers that constantly refuse to pay a fair and reasonable amount to either repair a damaged vehicle or recover the value of the vehicle if it is damaged beyond repair. I have overseen a Hot Line for AASP/NJ members for many years, and the calls that we get today are quite often the same or almost identical to many of the calls from years ago (which resulted in the Hot Line being created in the first place.) For this reason, it’s no wonder why many people are of the opinion that things will never change.

By running the Hot Line for many years, I get to see trends that occur in the industry, and I’m able to document both the good and bad things that happen. So many of the bad things that plague our industry have been dealt with, and solutions have been discovered as the result of documentation. Even with finding solutions to many problems as they arise, it seems that the problems in recent years are coming faster than the solutions. Much of this can be attributed to the change in the technology being introduced in modern vehicles. Obviously, the ultra-modern technology has resulted in new equipment and

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training investments. Things that collision shops could get away with in the past are just that – a thing of the past.

Based on a first-hand look at the industry from running the Hot Line and hearing the cries of the members of the industry for years, I can tell you that we are really close to what I have referred to in the past as “an explosion that is about to happen.” I have written articles comparing the conflicts between the insurance industry and the automotive repair industry to an unstoppable object approaching an unmovable object. When an unstoppable object comes in contact with an unmovable object, something enormous has to happen. In my opinion, that best describes exactly where the collision industry is at today. The question is, what is going to happen when the unstoppable object comes in direct contact with the unmovable object? We are about to find out!

Because the insurance industry has artificially suppressed the Labor Rates for so long, it will take doubling or tripling to get them to where they need to be in order to fairly compensate the collision industry to repair the complicated vehicles on the roads today. When we start saying we need double or triple the current rates, everyone seems that think the collision industry is just being greedy.

In reality, because of insurer interference, that is just what it will take to get them up to where they need to be. Because of the changes in the technology being introduced,

by CHARLES BRYANT

requiring the major investment in training and equipment (combined with the fact that certain shortcuts can no longer be taken), insurers have to be willing to compensate the collision shops accordingly, but they don’t. The combination of these things is what I feel equates to the example of the unstoppable object about to collide with the unmovable object.

This train has been coming down the track for a long time, and some people may say that certain people like me have been crying wolf for a long time and that nothing will ever happen. They think that once again, things will just get worked out. In the past, things have always been worked out. For years, insurance appraisers have allowed for hours that don’t exist in order to compensate for the low Labor Rates. Insurers have instructed their appraisers to throw a couple extra hours on a job when a collision shop is complaining about things like low Labor Rates or unfair compensation for things like the paint and materials required when repairing damaged vehicles. When shops complain to State agencies like the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, the response is that they are not in violation of the regulations as long as the insurer is willing to negotiate. Well, we are at the point that things can no longer be worked out because the differences are just too far apart. Because things can no longer be worked out and no State Agency is willing to step up and force insurers to address the issue, shops have had no choice but to turn to the courts for resolution.

No matter where you look today, you can find articles about another lawsuit that has been filed to address the exact issues referenced in this message. The difference now is that

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE the lawsuits that are being filed are major ones that are going to make a difference. They are lawsuits that are getting major attention by news organizations like the recent Anderson Cooper 360° episode that aired in February of this year. After that show

hit, other news stations across the country aired similar stories. Over the years, insurers have been able to avoid the attention that a lawsuit brings by twisting the facts and making it look like it is just the result of one or two shops trying to get more money

than they deserve. This time, it is not just a shop here or there; it’s shops from all over the country that have been driven into a corner and felt that they had no other choice. It was either turn to the courts or shut down their business.

Although it has been a long time in the making, the time has finally come for the shops involved in some of the suits to get discovery and depose those involved. Although I cannot go into detail on exactly what has come out of the discovery and depositions, I can tell everyone in the industry that help is on the way. The members of the industry who have decided to stand up and fight through the court system should be supported and honored, because it is extremely stressful to go through this process.

However, they are definitely going to make a difference like nothing has in the past. In short, relief is finally on the way, and we will be watching and reporting the progress as things continue. Stay tuned. NJA

Mike Lovullo Distributor for

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Micro-Mix Paint and

Materials Calculator in Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Hudson Counties in New Jersey.

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VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Introducing : A New Era of Customer Service

Jeffrey Choy (right) with David Zane of Holman Toyota, Mt. Laurel, NJ

FASTLIGN offers vehicle image and vehicle data at your fingertips before the customer exits the vehicle.

FASTLIGN offers a fast and cost-effective alternative to clamp-on wheel alignment evaluation techniques. Never miss an opportunity.

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Imagine a tool that can verify a car’s wheel alignment – or recognize a low tire, which has an effect on a vehicle’s tracking – as the customer drives into your service lane. Moments after the customer gets out of the car, your service writer has an illustrated report showing the rolling angle of each wheel and can explain to the customer why it may be a good idea to put the car on the rack for inspection, perform alignment adjustments or simply inflate the tires to the proper pressure. Even if the customer declines the offer, that report can be saved and mentioned in the next service reminder.

The tool that gives you this potential profit center is called FASTLIGN. Although it serves a similar purpose as widely used wheel alignment checking tools (point of sale), its function and utility are completely different. No equipment is attached to the vehicle.

Instead, it uses a set of lasers and photo sensors to detect the orientation of each tire as the car is driven past the sensors.

After scanning the VIN barcode, the computer retrieves prior customer records or alignment specifications from its database, compares the specs to the actual readings and generates a custom report that can be stored, displayed and/or printed. The device is completely self-contained and requires no technical expertise to use. Once the car is driven past the sensors, the only interaction with the FASTLIGN tool is through the WiFi barcode scanner entry point.

The technology was developed by BanaLogic Corporation, a CanadianDetailed report in as little as 15 seconds based company with offices in North Carolina and California and with a customer base of more than 2,000 service and repair facilities. According to Jeffrey Choy, automotive product specialist with Express Lane (a US distributor of the FASTLIGN product), roughly 50 percent of all vehicles arriving in a dealership service bay have some kind of problem that affects wheel alignment or tracking.

“We’re evaluating cars in ways they have never been checked before,” he says.

David Zane Sr., service director at Holman Toyota in Mount Laurel, began investigating FASTLIGN when it became obvious that his previous equipment (used in his facility for two and a half years) simply wasn’t cutting it anymore.

“I watched what my lot attendant staff went through on a daily basis,” he recalls.

“I watched how much work it really was, and I realized that we probably weren’t getting our potential out of the machine.”

As a dealer that serves an average of 130 vehicles a day, Holman Toyota is always on the lookout for equipment that can handle their high demands while reducing time and physical exertion among staff. Zane introduced the FASTLIGN to his facility in late April and immediately experienced vast improvements in his operation.

“There was no question that FASTLIGN’s non-intrusive, three-second scan was the direction we needed to go,” he says. “We do as many as 100 vehicle write-ups before lunch. Statistically, we are proportionately evaluating the same amount of vehicles using FASTLIGN as the head-hanging apparatus, only now we are not holding up customers’ vehicles in the service lane; the flow, processing time and image of the vehicle on the report is like night and day. Lines are not forming outside our lane as they would with the manual wheel clamps. By getting the tracking report in the customer’s hands before they reach the counter, we have a greater rate of success getting the customer to agree to additional services. It’s easier to sell when they are looking at their report than trying to sell the job over the phone or after they have left the service counter.”

In addition to an amazing ROI, FASTLIGN has had a tremendous impact on employee morale.

“They’re elated,” Zane says. “We have the check-in process almost down to 20 seconds; it’s that fast. People can use this machine with about 10 minutes of instruction. It doesn’t take physical strength like other machines that are out there. This allows you to hire from a wider employee pool. My lot attendants are enjoying using the machine; they’re having fun with it. Our previous machine was a burden to them. That’s the difference.”

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VENDOR SPOTLIGHT Not surprisingly, Choy is pleased to have provided a tool of such tremendous value.

“There’s nothing like being in the business of helping other people become successful,” he says.

“Dave is a perfect example, and he’s not the only one.

“Many service managers are considering tread-checking devices as their point of sale apparatus,” he continues. “Sure, anything in the service lane will help sell, but the ratio for those who require tire replacement is far from those who need a minor adjustment to their steering and suspension, ‘toe and go!’ The initial investment for tread checkers may be less, but the net profit [ROI] will likely be much less. Besides, how long is the process for installing a set of tires as opposed to a quick twisting of the tie rods? FASTLIGN will always be the best bang for the buck.”

With so many positive attributes working in its favor, FASTLIGN is sure to introduce a new era of customer service and retention.

As Choy says, “Everyone wins. The customer wins because he or she knows about the true condition of the vehicle, and the service writers win because their tickets get higher. Of course, dealer principals are happy because this could add tens of thousands of dollars in net profit per month.”

For more information on FASTLIGN, contact Jeffrey Choy at (571) 216-6100.

NJA

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Reports showing FASTLIGN statistics, including pass/fail rate, reports generated, specific models and other analyses, are available by email or directly off the server in real time.

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11th Annual Lou Scoras

Memorial Golf Outing May 18, 2015, Colonia Country Club Photos by Jacquelyn Bauman and Frank Ingram

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AASP/NJ 11TH ANNUAL LOU SCORAS MEMORIAL

GOLF OUTING

AASP/NJ Thanks This Year’s Sponsors: Platinum Sponsors: The Amato Agency, All American Auto Salvage and Hertz Rent-A-Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Gold Sponsor: Thomas Greco Publishing / New Jersey Automotive

Silver Sponsor: Auto Body Distributing Co. Bronze Sponsors: Cosmo’s Ocean County Auto Wreckers and TNT Auto Parts

Refreshment Carts: Cosmo’s Ocean County Auto Wreckers Hole in One Sponsor: Maxon Hyundai-Mazda Hole Sponsors: Parkway Auto Body, East Coast Auto Body, Auto Body Distributing Co., Meadowbrook Insurance Services, NJGCA, Mike Kaufmann, Bradley Car Care, Dover Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep, Continental Auto Parts, Lakewood Toyota, All American Auto Salvage, Mountain View Auto Body, First Class Auto Glass, L&M Auto Center, Hertz Rent-A-Car, Flemington Car & Truck, Axalta Coating Systems, FMS Managers, USI North America Paint Booths, Albert Kemperle, Walter’s Auto Body, Thomas Greco Publishing/New Jersey Automotive, Lee’s Auto Body, Meadowlands Exposition Center, Maxon Hyundai-Mazda, Central Paint/Central Motor Parts, Holmes & McDowell, Storm Logix Web Design, Anthony’s Auto Body, Mitch Portnoi (Post, Polak, Goodsell, MacNeill & Strauchler, P.A.), Fred Beans Subaru.

Prize Sponsors: NUCAR, Cosmo’s Ocean County Auto Wreckers, Fred Beans, Hertz Rent-A-Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, The Amato Agency, Maxon Hyundai-Mazda, Axalta Coating Systems, Meadowbrook Insurance Services, Auto Body Distributing Co., Freehold Nissan, Utica National Insurance Company, PaintEx.

Special thanks to Hertz for running check-in for this year’s guests and providing them with gift bags, Cosmo’s and NUCAR for their incredibly generous donations of flat-screen TVs as prizes, Joe Amato and Randy Scoras for their efforts during this year’s dinner and Lee Vetland and the Colonia Country Club for their management of the best Golf Outing yet!

AASP/NJ acknowledges and appreciates ALL of our extremely generous sponsors and supporters, and encourages the industry to remember these names when purchasing products and services.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S WINNERS!

First Place: Dave Brennan, Ken Pagel, Brian Horton, Mark Ierubino

Second Place: Frank Dominici, Robin Cuneo, AJ Bassani, Rich Markovich

Third Place: Joe Amato Sr., John Griffin, Pat DeCeasare, John Agamie

Longest Drive: Male: Dave Brennan; Female: Robin Cuneo

Closest to the Pin: Frank Dominici

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Audi dealers strive to make you an • Audi Parts Professionals are Your Subject Matter Experts on Collision Parts, Replacement Components and Mechanical Items. • Many Audi dealers offer technical service support hotline access that can reduce your repair times and help you meet an on-time promised delivery.

Helping you do business is our business. Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select dealers.

Flemington Audi 213 Route 202/31 Flemington, NJ 08822 Toll Free: 800.216.5124 Fax: 908.782.9397 email: rmuir@flemington.com www.flemington.com

Classic Audi 655 North Macquesten Pky. Mount Vernon, NY 10552 914.663.2870 Fax: 914.663.2878 email: parts@westchesteraudi.com www.westchesteraudi.com

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DCH Millburn Audi 2211 Millburn Ave Maplewood, NJ 07040 Toll Free: 800.553.9250 Direct: 973.762.0262 Fax: 973.821.2040 www.millburnaudi.com

Schneider + Nelson Audi 270 Highway 36 West Long Branch, NJ 07764 732.389.1743 Fax: 732.935.7585 email: parts@schneidernelson.com www.schneidernelson.com

Audi Turnersville 3400 Route 42 Turnersville , NJ 08012 856.649.7560 Fax: 856.649.7565 www.turnersvilleautomall.com

Palisades Audi 127 Route 59 Nyack, NY 10960 Toll Free: 888-349-6075 Parts Line: 845-353-4870 Parts Fax: 845-358-5959 AudiParts@ThePremierCollection.com

Paul Miller Audi 179 Route 46 East Parsippany, NJ 07054 Toll Free: 800.35.MILLER Parts Direct: 973.575.7793 Fax: 973.575.5911 www.paulmiller.com

Town Motors Audi 400 South Dean Street Englewood, NJ 07631 201.227.6506/6536 Fax: 201.541.0314 www.townmotors.com

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an Audi Genuine Parts fan • Installing Genuine Audi Collision parts contributes towards improved cycle time that makes both your customer and their insurance company happier.

• Regardless of the age of your customer’s Audi, Audi dealers have access to over 200,000 part numbers. No other supplier comes close.

Bell Audi 782 Route 1, Edison, NJ 08817 732.396.9360 Fax: 732.396.9090 www.bellaudi.com Jack Daniels Audi of Upper Saddle River 243 Route 17 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Phone: 201.252.1500 Fax: 201.254.1552 email: mcavallaro@jackdanielsmotors.com www.jackdanielsmotors.com Audi Meadowlands 4700 Westside Ave. North Bergen, NJ 07047 Toll Free: 888.416.2834 Fax: 201.223.7842 www.audimeadowlands.com

Cherry Hill Audi 2261 Marlton Pike West Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 Wholesale: 856.665.5660 Fax: 856.665.4645 email: parts@cherryhillimports.com www.cherryhillaudi.com

Audi Bridgewater 701 Route 202-206 N Bridgewater, NJ 08807 Toll Free: 888-685-5712 Parts Direct: 908-800-9000 Fax: 908-595-0237 email: parts@bernardsvilleaudi.com www.audibridgewater.com Audi Manhattan 800 11th Avenue New York, NY 10019 212.515.8200 Wholesale Direct: 212.515.8275 www.audimanhattan.com

Audi Brooklyn 211 63rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11220 Phone: 718-492-6400 Fax: 718-492-8899 rmerchant@audibrooklyn.com www.audibrooklyn.com Jack Daniels Audi 1601 Mc Bride Avenue Fairlawn, NJ 07410 201-398-1209 Fax: 201-475-8666 www.jackdanielsmotors.com

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LEGAL PERSPECTIVE by Mitchell Portnoi, Esq.

Insurance Law: A General Outline

W

e have all received insurance policies in the mail (some are now even being sent online) and either filed them in the circular file or (hopefully) filed them away for future reference. When it comes time to reference those insurance contracts, it is invariably because a loss or claim has occurred and we want to know what is covered, what the deductibles are and who is responsible for this loss. It is at this time that we need to look closely at the contract/policy and interpret the language contained therein. There are some very general and basic rules for interpreting this language, and it is the purpose of this article to set forth the basic rules for understanding and construing insurance contracts.

Firstly, the rules that are applicable for ordinary contracts have been held applicable to insurance contracts as well. The courts will not remake contracts for the parties; they can only enforce contracts that the parties themselves have made. The aim of judicial construction of insurance contracts is to determine and then effectuate the intent of the parties. Contract language is to be given its ordinary meaning, unless some special meaning is clearly shown. In seeking the intention of the parties, the instrument as a whole is considered; whenever possible, effect is given to all of its parts and a construction that gives a reasonable meaning to all its

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provisions is preferred to one which leaves it or some of its parts useless or inexplicable.

There have been some rules that are considered applicable to the general construction of insurance contracts, which have been modified over the years to reflect the overriding public policy of protecting the individual policyholder. This is due to the fact that the general policyholder is considered unschooled in the intricacies of insurance. The courts have recognized that complex insurance contracts are actually contracts of adhesion that are prepared by the insurance company and not subject to negotiation as to the terms and provisions; they are particularly unintelligible to the general consumer were he or she to even attempt to read and understand the terms therein. The courts have stressed that the average purchaser of insurance is entitled to the protections necessary to fulfill his or her reasonable expectations, and that the language contained in these contracts is to be plain, clear and prominent to the layperson.

An outgrowth of the above-stated principle is the judicially developed rule that insurance contracts are contracts of “adhesion� and are to be strictly construed against the insurer. That is, if the terms used in an insurance policy are imperfect or ambiguous (capable of being understood in two different ways), it is the fault of

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the insurance company and the construction of the contract will be strongly against them. In other words, ambiguity requires resolution in favor of the insureds. Generally speaking, a genuine ambiguity is said to arise where the phrasing of the policy is so confusing that the average policyholder cannot make out the boundaries of coverage. Additionally, where insurance policy language is subject to two possible interpretations, courts will invariably accept the interpretation under which coverage is found and will reject the interpretation that leaves the injured person without protection.

These rules of construction apply generally to the uninformed average private person and may be more strictly construed for the supposed more sophisticated business consumer. However, the rules that relate to ambiguous contracts still apply against the writer (in this case, the insurance company) and lend a favorable interpretation to the business consumer.

What does all this mean to the supposedly sophisticated business owner? Take some time to review your policies of insurance with your broker/agent and know what risks you are protected against and (perhaps more importantly) know the risks for which you are NOT protected. Get an insurance agent that you trust and who is familiar with your business and the losses/claims that take place within that business. Speak to a lawyer whenever your insurance company denies a claim for which you thought there was coverage. Please call me at (973) 228-9900 with any questions related to this article.

NJA

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Molding the INDUSTRY’S FUTURE at

FEATURE Coverage and photos by Jacquelyn Bauman

On May 2, New Jersey collision repair students went head-to-head, putting their skills to the test in the annual NJ SkillsUSA competition held this year at the Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School in Bridgewater. Twelve students in total participated in different automotive repair tasks including welding, bumper repair, adhesives and estimating. Local industry leaders judged individual tasks, giving each student a particular score based on their final result, technique, time management and finished product, among other things. Students competed for prizes donated by Karyn Breidt and Auto Body Distributing, Anthony Trama and Bloomfield Auto Body, Charity Ritter and Bridgewater Collision, Tom Smetanka and Central Paint, Wayne Wagner and Walter’s Auto Body and Jerry McNee and Ultimate Collision Repair. Prizes ranged from a full tool set and bench to a welding helmet and supplies such as gloves and jumpsuit.

The winners were: First place – Nicolas Bianco (Hunterdon Co-Central), Second place – Giannie Cintron (Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School), Third place – Matt Nelson (Morris County School of Technology).

Bianco will now have the opportunity to compete at the SkillsUSA National competition in Louisville, KY from June 22-26.

Program Director Peter Fryzel of I-CAR would like to thank this year’s judges – Steve Baur, Charity Ritter, Howard Freedman, Todd Witten, Chuy Barrera, Edward Winkins and Edgar Chaves, Jr. – as well as all of the sponsors for their continued support of this event. In addition those who donated prizes, this year’s sponsors were AASP/NJ, A&J Body Fender, Albert Kemperle, The Chrysler Corporation, Dayton Toyota Center, DCH Collision Center, I-CAR, Flemington Chrysler, Jackson Auto Body, Main Auto Body, Reliable Auto Collision Inc., Spies Hecker, 3M and Urethane Supply Co. NJA

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FEATURE by Joel Gausten

THE REAL DEAL ON AUTO EDUCATION: A Conversation with I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne – Part 1 If you think this industry is doing a good job of pursuing adequate training, think again.

At the April Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Atlanta, I-CAR President and CEO John Van Alstyne offered a stunning revelation: Despite the best efforts of industry advocates, only 34 percent of today’s industry engages in any form of industry training.

With I-CAR currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of Gold Class and more than 35 years in the industry, New Jersey Automotive reached out to Van Alstyne for a lengthy two-part chat on why such a low number exists – and why the need for education in this industry is more desperate than ever.

At the most recent CIC, you noted that I-CAR’s research revealed that 66 percent of today’s industry does not engage in regular training. What has I-CAR’s research identified as some of the major root causes of such a distressing number?

We kind of backed into that 66 percent number; the 66 percent number comes from an assessment of the percent of the industry that’s – number one – engaged with I-CAR training. At the end of 2014, we had 6,049 shops that were either Gold Class or on the Road to Gold. Gold Class is our consumer-facing recognition for a shop that’s achieved the minimal levels of training that the industry essentially specified through our Professional Development Program. Road to Gold is like our on-ramp to Gold Class. These are shops that have declared that they want to achieve Gold Class, so they are actively working towards that. We track them and we call them Road to Golders. The expectation is that Road to Golders become Gold Class shops in about a year. We have 3,200 Gold Class shops and 2,800 Road to Gold shops. And those numbers are up; last year, we had an increase of almost four percent on Gold Class, and Road to Golders were up 25 percent. So we have a

Staying Ahead with

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lot of people who are getting engaged in I-CAR. If you do the math on that 6,000 and you look at our industry of maybe 35,000 shops, that’s 17 percent of the industry that’s seriously engaged with I-CAR. ICAR’s not the only training organization that’s out there. Certain OEMs have training. BMW has good training, Toyota has good training and Audi has some training.

Folks are able to get some training in other ways. We also have our program we call the Training Alliance; people can get credit in the I-CAR world for training they take elsewhere. Some of those OEMs are part of that, but [so are] people like 3M that offer training on, say, adhesive bonding, or maybe Chief on how to use their frame equipment. That counts towards the I-CAR world.

If we look at the structure of the industry, what drives training? Well, first, there’s an inspiration to train for shops, but then there’s also the requirement to train.

In the I-CAR world, there are some insurers and some OEMs that require I-CAR training. That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, because that helps motivate people to get training, but there are also some shops that are inspired to train because they know it’s the right thing to do, and that it helps them perform complete

The 2015 aluminum-intensive Ford F-150 has hit the roads. Are you prepared to handle one if it comes into your shop? Start with I-CAR’s 2015 Ford F-150 Structural Repair Training, a live classroom course worth six credit hours that highlights the unique process associated with aluminum repair of the Ford F-150.

On Thursday, July 9, Somerset County Vocational High School in Bridgewater will host a 3pm installment of this course. To register, visit i-car.com or call (800) 422-7872. For questions, contact Peter Fryzel at peterfryzel@verizon.net.

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and safe repairs and also impacts their business performance. But if we look at the population of OEMs and insurers that have training requirements, that population of shops probably numbers in the range of about 12,000 total, which is a little bit bigger than the population we have.

We have a total of about 9,000 shops that have done some training with us in 2014, and we would estimate that about 12,000 shops fall into the repairer network programs that have some sort of a training requirement attached to them – it may not be Gold Class, but some level of training required.

Our assertion is that if we’ve only got 9,000 shops engaged with I-CAR, and we’ve only got 6,000 that are Gold Class or on the Road to Gold and we’re aware that there’s programs out there through insurers or OEMs or [elsewhere] that affect about 12,000 shops, then what’s the balance of the industry doing? What are the other 23,000 shops doing? They’re not doing anything with I-CAR; we are the principal provider of training to our industry. They’re probably not training with BMW or Audi or Toyota, because they’d be in those repair networks, so where are they getting training?

My slide at CIC said 66 percent are likely not training. I’m not sure I can validate that on all 23,000 shops, but we know they’re not with us and we’re pretty sure they’re not with Toyota and BMW, etc. So why aren’t those 23,000 shops training today? Well, I’d say there are probably a couple of reasons. Number one, I’m not sure that this industry necessarily has a

deep culture affinity towards learning and education and taking training. It’s not been a requirement across the industry to do so, and there’s an expense associated with it.

You have to pay money to go to a training class, and you’ve got to pay for your employee to go, so there’s an economic cost to training as well. So there are probably a number of reasons that might contribute to that.

What are the primary reasons why a shop should invest the time and resources to become Gold Class?

Number one, if a shop’s not training, how does that shop deal with the vehicles that are coming into the shop – and that will be coming into the shop? The number one component is the fact that every year in the United States, somewhere between 75 and 100 new vehicles are launched that have some sort of change going on to that vehicle which is of significance to the collision repair industry. It could be a new vehicle debuting, or it could be a significant re-design of a vehicle or have to do with significant re-engineering of stuff that’s going on underneath the body panels...How do you keep abreast of the best practices on how to repair those vehicles if you’re not training? These vehicles are changing, and in some case quite significantly.

The number one issue that the industry has is the plethora of new vehicles coming into the shops every year. Issue number two that the industry has is the complexity of vehicle technology that’s

being introduced to the marketplace. A major driver of that is the CAFE legislation that was put into place a few years back. There are interim requirements for fleets in North America to achieve a certain MPG requirement. By 2016, vehicles need to be at a significantly higher CAFE performance than where they needed to be in prior years. But that’s just an interim requirement; in 2025, vehicles need to be at 54.5 miles per gallon. If you look at where the automotive industry has been over the last five years or so, it has been improving fuel economy at an average rate of about .8 miles per gallon. To get to the 2016 requirements – and this was starting in 2014 – the rate of the change of improvement has to go from .8 to 1.2; that’s a 50-percent increase in average fuel economy performance across the OEM fleets. To get to 54.5 in 2015, that rate of change had to change effectively in 2014 to a rate of 1.6 miles per gallon or double the rate of improvement over the prior five years. So how are the automotive companies getting there? They’re getting there through a combination of various different tactics; some of those are powertrains, more efficient engines, more efficient transmissions, turbochargers, maybe applying diesels into their fleets. They’re looking at plug-in electric hybrids and hybridizing conventional powertrains, stop/start technologies...The powertrain’s a big piece of it, but mass reduction, rolling resistance, aerodynamics are also big pieces of it...We’re seeing shifts in materials; the use of high-strength steels is becoming more commonplace today. Although continued on page 51

As CEO and president of I-CAR, John Van Alstyne is leading I-CAR into the future as the automotive collision repair industry’s standard for technical-focused education, knowledge and solutions that directly contribute to complete, safe and quality repairs for the ultimate benefit of the consumer. Prior to I-CAR, Van Alstyne spent 20 years in the OEM and vehicle technology sector of the automotive industry. Most recently, he was with Fisher Coachworks, a Detroit-based electric vehicle start-up.

Earlier, he was with Ricardo, a top global powertrain and vehicle engineering consulting firm, and Freudenberg-NOK, a global Tier 1 OEM parts manufacturer.

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COVER STORY by Joel Gausten

FAIR, REASONABLE &

PROFITABLE: Exploring the Variable Rate System There isn’t a single shop owner reading this publication who doesn’t want a more realistic Labor Rate.

In an industry often hindered by the demands of insurers, there has never been a greater need to break away from the learned helplessness that plagues so many repairers and explore new ways of developing what should be the Labor Rate for collision repairs. For a growing number of shops across America, this new path is being developed by the Variable Rate System from National AutoBody Research (NABR).

Created by Richard and Sam Valenzuela, the Variable Rate System is a collection of online tools that help auto body shops charge the right Labor Rates for their shop based on market, training, certifications and equipment, and helps them raise their rates to a profitable and sustainable level. It is a subscriptionbased product that seeks to solve two problems – the single rate system, and stagnant and depressed Labor Rates – simply by taking advantage of accepted industry operating procedures and laws that already exist: Prevailing Competitive Pricing (PCP), Most Favored Nation (MFN) and ShortPay Negotiation and Litigation. According to company literature, “Auto body shops can start using it today without fear of losing their DRPs. No argument with your DRPs is involved because even as market conditions change, the continued proper use of the Variable Rate System will ultimately raise the recognized PCP rates which all insurance providers pay.”

“When we began, there was a clear and desperate need for Labor Rates to go up,” explains Richard. “While people in the industry did not necessarily have the research to support that belief, they were feeling it in their bank accounts, their inability to give employees raises and their inability to buy necessary equipment to handle the new technology, metals and designs of modern vehicles.”

The Variable Rate System (VRS), comprised of five (and two upcoming) online tools, includes online access to several business tools designed to improve your understanding of competitive prices in your market, locate shops like yours in your area, provide efficient quotes and calculate the right Labor Rate for your individual shop in order to hit your profit goals. Subscribing shops get 24/7 anytime access to these VRS tools:

SURVEY THE MARKET The most advanced Labor Rate search tool available. With just

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a few clicks, this function within the VRS quickly provides you with Prevailing Market Rate Ranges (PMRRs) of competitive Labor Rates in your area (not just one rate for all shops), based on several factors such as a shop’s location, training, certifications and investment in equipment and technology.

Documents PCP rate range to support claiming and collecting fair and reasonable rates from insurance providers

SHOP LOCATOR Based on the search criteria you select – such as location, training, certifications, equipment – the Shop Locator shows a list of the company names, addresses and phone numbers of all shops that have entered their Labor Rates in the VRS. This gives VRS subscribers competitive intelligence not available to others in the marketplace.

LABOR RATE & PROFIT CALCULATOR What’s the right Labor Rate for your shop to charge in order to achieve a 15-percent operating profit? If your paint costs go up five percent, what new Labor Rate or paint & materials rate do you need to maintain your profit levels? The VRS Labor Rate & Profit Calculator helps answer these and several other important questions, fast. NABR has done all of the math and built an easy-to-use online tool, so you can focus on running the best shop possible. No more guessing at Labor Rates, no more working through other confusing and complicated Labor Rate calculators and no need to pay your accountant to build more spreadsheets. Just plug in the basic financial and operations numbers we ask, and let the calculator do the rest. The result: learn the right Labor Rates to charge for your individual shop, based on your own company’s cost of doing business and gross profit and operating profit goals.

COST OF DOING BUSINESS CALCULATOR Currently provided as an offline service by NABR for VRS subscribers, the Cost of Doing Business Calculator helps shops better understand their cost structure from a monthly, weekly, daily and even hourly view. With the flexibility to use your financial statements from the last three, six, nine or 12 months, this

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calculator is used in conjunction with the Labor Rate calculator to help you compute the right Labor Rates for you.

QUOTE TOOL This easy-to-use online tool gives shop estimators a lightning-fast way to access pricing packages and provide quotes. The ultimate in pricing flexibility, the Quote Tool enables your shop to have up to three tiers of pricing (for example, Hi, Medium, Lo) for multiple account types such as retail, wholesale, commercial, fleet and insurers, as well as special pricing packages for specialty or high-end vehicles.

The Quote Tool is used daily to virtually eliminate pricing confusion when preparing estimates, while increasing efficiency and profit per transaction.

PROCEDURES & PRACTICES Have you ever heard “you’re the only one” who charges for that procedure? The new VRS Procedures & Practices Survey will dispel that myth once and for all. Shops across the country have told us of the many procedures or operations they commonly perform without getting paid. Yet other shops charge for that same operation, put it on their estimate and get paid by the insurer. Why does one shop get paid but not the other? There are several reasons, but the biggest one NABR hears is that shops were not aware that other shops were charging and collecting for certain procedures. Well, now you will be!

Take the VRS Procedures Survey today, and see behind the curtain about what is really happening with other shops, and which insurers pay for what procedures. Your participation in the survey is vital to helping create a level playing field so that every shop is paid for the work they do.

MARKET METRICS (COMING SOON) How does your shop’s revenue per bay compare to other shops in your market? What about total overhead per employee? Or profit per square foot? Coming soon, the VRS Market Metrics tool will help you answer these key performance questions, enabling you to benchmark your shop against others in your market and across the country, along several key performance indicators in the areas of sales performance, cost performance, profit performance, productivity metrics and general business comparisons.

Considering the truly unique nature of the Variable Rate System, it comes as little surprise that use of the product has spread throughout the industry. At the end of 2013, the system had rate information for 300 shops across the country; today, more than 20,000 different rates have been collected by 1,745 shops in 44 states. Sam credits the Variable Rate System’s ongoing success to industry word of mouth plus growing news media interest and support.

“We have many shops that are strong believers in the system, and they are telling others about it and spreading the word,” he says. “When people really see and really understand what the Variable Rate System is, they get really New Jersey Automotive | June 2015 | 49

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excited because they see the vision that it is indeed the solution for the stagnant Labor Rate problem.”

Perhaps the greatest element of the Variable Rate System is that it offers real-time Labor Rate data based on the quality of shops within a specified market.

“We believe that you need to separate shops from one another only in an effort to reward the shops that are reinvesting into their businesses by getting their people trained and acquiring more certifications and quality equipment,” notes Richard. “We have adjusted the search functionality to separate the more highly certified shops from less-certified shops. Those shops that do that can then call for a greater Labor Rate. We want those facilities rewarded for their efforts in trying to be state-of-the-art shops, because we are concerned about the care and the safety of the consumer.”

“Not all shops are the same,” Sam adds. “Paying one price to all shops is kind of equivalent to giving one grade to all our students in a class. Students perform differently, and they deserve different grades; shops perform differently and deserve different prices.”

Sam believes that the Variable Rate Systems offers value to insurance carriers as well.

“Most insurers really don’t have a source of market-based data to know what the real price is,” he observes. “This is one way where they can have a better, more accurate view of what prices really are in the market.”

In addition to their subscription-based offerings, National AutoBody Research is currently conducting extensive – and free – national surveys on shops’ Labor Rates and procedures. The rate surveys ask shops to supply two types of rates: the posted door rate and what Richard calls the “fair, reasonable and sufficiently profitable rate” (or FRP).

“The FRP rates are those that shops say they would charge without insurers being involved in their business,” offers Sam. “The FRP rates are higher, but they’re not extremely high. You don’t see shops saying they would charge $200 an hour if insurers were not in their business.”

“The extremes of the FRP rates national, statewide or regionally don’t exceed where the rate would have been if the Labor Rates had stayed in line with cost of living and inflation increases over the last decade or so,” Richard adds. “In our research, the FRP rates are still falling short of where other industries’ Labor Rates are. They’re falling short of mechanical Labor Rates and even the Labor Rates for bicycle repairs. We think that is a tremendous injustice.”

The past few months have seen National AutoBody Research partner with shops or industry associations in New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Idaho, Texas, Georgia and Florida to bring the surveys to these states. In most cases, these surveys are named after a prominent repairer in that state. For instance, the Ohio survey bears that name of noted industry leader Bob Juniper, while the North Carolina survey is named after industry professional and recently elected SCRS Board member Michael Bradshaw. All current state surveys also include the name of outspoken industry advocate and Florida shop owner Ray Gunder. Not surprisingly, Richard is pleased and honored to receive these public endorsements from these well-known industry figures.

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“Their motive is the care and safety of the consumer and the welfare and wellbeing of the collision industry,” he says. “They are the leaders, the people who are cutting the path and are willing to fight the battle for fair, reasonable pricing in the collision industry. There is a desperate need to raise rates to that level, and they’re supportive of the Variable Rate System. Our hope is that other repair professionals will look at these men and say, ‘If those guys believe in the system, maybe we need to give it a look.’”

Closer to home, AASP/NJ has been a strong and very vocal supporter of the Variable Rate System. Earlier this year, the association teamed with NABR to sponsor the AASP/NJ VRS Ray Gunder Real-Time Labor Rate Survey in the state of New Jersey.

“NABR is thrilled to work with AASP/NJ and Charlie Bryant to bring the Variable Rate System to New Jersey,” offered Richard in a prepared statement at the time of the union. “[AASP/ NJ Executive Director] Charlie [Bryant] has shown himself to be a courageous visionary willing to go to bat for a product he feels will benefit the industry that he’s devoted his life to. Likewise, AASP/NJ has demonstrated the wisdom to put aside old preconceived ideas about Labor Rate surveys to support a technology that could revolutionize Labor Rate pricing for the auto collision industry, for the ultimate wellbeing and safety of the consumer.”

“We’re very excited about the Variable Rate System because it is nothing like the traditional surveys we have seen in the past,” added Bryant. “The VRS gathers the important information that separates one shop from another – their level of training, level of investment in equipment, the type of vehicle being worked on and more – and then reports back with a range of rates using an apples-to-apples comparison. I would strongly recommend that collision shops look further into the Variable Rate System, sign up and give it an opportunity to make a difference.”

In March, the Valenzuelas used the 38th Annual NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show as an opportunity to showcase the Variable Rate System to the shops that would benefit from it. Their presentation was easily one of highlights of this year’s installment of AASP/NJ’s flagship event.

“There’s a nucleus of shops in the New Jersey market that are incredibly supportive,” Richard says. “We’ve developed great friendships that make it easier to help the shops. The relationship with AASP/NJ has been excellent.”

Of course, a tool as revolutionary as the Variable Rate System is only helpful to your business if you take the time to utilize it.

As Richard says, “The Variable Rate System is not a magic wand that you wave in the air and then Labor Rates increase.

Don’t subscribe and then put it on the shelf and think the rates are going to increase because you subscribed. You have to use the system.”

“Our subscribers who are successful in raising the rates are the ones who are actively using the system and have integrated it into their day-to-day business,” adds Sam. “If you do that, your rates will go up. We just have too much proof that it works when you use the tool.”

NJA

For more information on the Variable Rate System, visit nationalautobodyresearch.com.

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I-CAR FEATURE

continued from page 43

high-strength steel is still a steel, there are different attributes to high-strength steel that make it unique versus traditional mild steels; there are some new techniques required to deal with high-strength steels. I’m not sure the industry really puts enough attention to that factor. While the industry’s all excited about aluminum, there’s a lot more high-strength steel being used – and high-strength steel is not the same as steel.

Aluminum is coming into the market; we saw that with the F-150 this year. But aluminum’s been around for a little while; Jaguar/Land Rover uses aluminum, and Audi uses aluminum. It’s not that it’s completely new, but all of a sudden it’s on the mainstream, highestvolume vehicle in the United States, so that’s a big deal. Carbon fiber’s out there, and magnesium’s showing up...You’ve got all this stuff going on in terms of the body and structure of the vehicle, and then you throw in all the electronics that are coming to the forefront...Quite frankly, the electrical aspects of the repair are becoming much more significant and are very critical to ongoing proper performance in the vehicle from a safety perspective. So you combine all the technology changes that are going to happen – driven by legislation and consumer demand for electronics and all the fancy things that cars do together – with the repetitive 75 to 100 new vehicles each year, and it’s no longer a model change where you have a new paint on the car and some new fabric on the seats; you’ve got a significant changing of the DNA of the vehicle that’s happening and will continue to happen over the next decade. So if you’re not training, how do you keep abreast of all that is going on, and how do you know that you’re able to perform complete, safe and quality repairs?

We need to get real as an industry.

We have technology shifting that requires new thinking. At the same time, you can generate a meaningful ROI by adopting a commitment to education and knowledge. NJA

Portions of this interview were edited for space and clarity.

Look for part two of our discussion with John Van Alstyne in next month’s New Jersey Automotive.

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ARANJ

The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey

Wharton Insurance Briefs

ARANJ 2015 Officers

President Bob Dirkes / Dirkes Used Auto Parts (609) 625-1718 / dirkesauto@gmail.com

1st Vice President Ian Szoboszlay / Ocean County Auto (732) 349-0332 / ian@cosmosautoparts.com

An ARA Member

The economy can create many changes in the insurance industry, some good and some not so good. When an insurance company has lost premium income, they may lower premiums to attract new customers or enter into a field of business that they have not entertained before. The latter has become a concern to me and should be a concern to you.

Be very cautious when you are approached by an agent representing an insurance company that you don’t recognize or that has not written insurance for your industry in the past.

A new company is willing to lower premiums to get a market share of the industry business. Although the premium may be less, you need to thoroughly evaluate the coverage, exclusions and conditions of the policy. When making your decision, look for an agent and insurance company that is experienced in your industry. They understand your exposures and can provide proper coverage to meet your needs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding quotes you have received, please feel free to call me to discuss it.

Mario DeFilippis, AAI, Vice President 800-221-0003 (1320) • 908-513-8588 (cell) mdefilippis@whartoninsurance.com

2nd Vice President Darryl Carmen / Lentini Auto Salvage (908) 782-6838 / darryl@las-parts.com 3rd Vice President Joe Goodman / Leesville Auto (732) 388-0783 / joeg@leesvilleauto.com

Executive Director Brian Snyder / Auto Recyclers of NJ (609) 714-2339 / brian@aranj.org

ARANJ 2015 Board of Directors

Mike Ronayne Tilghmans Auto Parts (609) 723-7469 tilghmans@snip.net Mike Yeager EL & M Auto (609) 561-2266 elandmauto@aol.com

Rodney Krawczyk Ace Auto Wreckers (732) 254-9816 aceautonj@comcast.net

Mike Caputo Lacey Used Auto Parts, Inc. (609) 693-0898 laceyautomike@aol.com

Bert Witcraft Auto Express (856) 728-8367

Ed Silipena American II Autos (609) 965-6700 esilipena@yahoo.com Harry Shover Porchtown Auto (856) 694-1555

Norm Vachon Port Murray Auto (908) 689-3152 portmurrayauto@yahoo.com

NJA

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Thank you from AASP/NJ for attending and exhibiting at NORTHEAST 2015! 速

Save the Dates for 2016!

March 18, 19, 20, 2016 New Jersey Automotive | June 2015 | 57

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Acme Nissan ..............................................11 Amato Agency ............................................17 Audi Group ................................................30-31 Axalta Coating Systems ..............................6 BMW Group ..................................................40-41 Bridgewater Acura ......................................53 Cadillac of Mahwah ....................................18 CCC Comp-Est ..........................................16 Classic Audi................................................10 Continental Auto Parts ................................55 Cycan Industries ........................................33 Empire Auto Parts ......................................51 FASTLIGN® ..............................................21 Flemington Audi..........................................5 Flemington Group ......................................IBC Fred Beans Parts ........................................4 Future Cure ................................................16 Glen Toyota ................................................OBC Help Wanted ..............................................9 Hyundai Group............................................23 JMK BMW..................................................35 JMK Saab/JMK Fiat ....................................9 Klean Frame ..............................................51 Maxon Mazda ............................................46 Maxon Hyundai ..........................................36 Mazda Group..............................................34 Mercedes-Benz of Freehold ........................57 MINI of Manhattan ......................................8 MINI Group ................................................19 Mitsubishi Group ........................................29 Mopar Group ..............................................24 NORTHEAST® 2016 ..................................57 NUCAR.......................................................12-13 Paul Miller Audi ..........................................44 Porsche Group............................................47 PPG ..........................................................3 PPGMS ......................................................32 Prestige Motors ..........................................22 Princeton BMW ..........................................45 Princeton MINI............................................33 Sherwin-Williams........................................37 Subaru Group ............................................56 Town Motors ..............................................15 Toyota Group ..............................................54 Toyota of Hackensack ................................IFC Valtek ........................................................58 VIP Honda ..................................................53 VW Group ..................................................52 Wheel Collision Center ................................58

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