PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Burl Richards

QUEStions for the texas department of insurance

Burl Richards ABAT President

IIf you check out the “About” page on the Texas Department of Insurance’s website (tdi.texas.gov), you’ll see that the Texas Insurance Code requires the TDI to (among other things) “protect and ensure the fair treatment of consumers.” Unfortunately, what is stated on that website is nowhere near what I’ve experienced in the real world.

As president of ABAT, I have communicated directly with the TDI on a number of issues that directly impact Texas motorists. So far, I have been disappointed with the Department’s apparent unwillingness to get involved in addressing the consumer abuse that goes on every day at the hands of insurance companies. These offenses include everything from shortchanging policyholders on claims to insisting that shops use substandard parts. When I’ve brought up these matters to TDI representatives, I’ve been told that they don’t decide what is reasonable and customary when it comes to paying claims or dictate which parts should be used during a repair. On top of that, I’ve never talked to a body shop that has had positive interactions or results with the TDI. It is clear to me that the TDI has no appetite to get involved in genuinely protecting and ensuring the fair treatment of the consumers it supposedly represents.

Of course, I’d be delighted to be proven wrong, so let’s put my assumption to the test. I’d like to publicly ask the TDI the following questions:

• How many TDI employees have received collision repair industry training (I-CAR, etc.) in the past year? • How does the TDI define a “safe and proper repair”? • What is the process for investigating consumer complaints submitted to the TDI against auto insurance companies? • What information (crash test data, etc.) are insurers required to submit to the TDI in regard to the replacement parts they include on estimates during the repair process?

I look forward to receiving answers from the TDI, which has several representatives who I know for a fact receive this magazine.

Although I’m asking these questions in a collision repair trade publication as the president of an auto body trade association, the fact is that I’m also a consumer. I have a right to know how this state agency is working to ensure that I receive fair treatment from my auto insurer.

The people who work for the TDI are also consumers. Don’t they want to make sure their insurers would be looking out for them if they are ever involved in an accident? Don’t they want to rest easy knowing their fully indemnified friends and family members are out there driving or riding in vehicles that have been properly repaired?

As collision repairers, we have the experience and expertise necessary to perform proper repairs and truly protect the customers who depend on us. At the end of the day, the TDI should be looking to us for direction and information – not the other way around.

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