The Refinish Distributors Alliance (RDA) announced it had record attendance at its Fall Membership Meeting held October 5 – 7 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. Speakers during the three days included Mike Anderson from CollisionAdvice, and Gene Marks from The Marks Group. Members and manufacturers were also able to […]
NICB Processing Flood Damaged Vehicles from SC Floods
As South Carolina struggles to recover from record-breaking rainfall and flooding, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is working with law enforcement agencies, insurance and car rental companies to identify and catalog water-damaged vehicles and keep them from being resold to unsuspecting consumers. Authorities estimate that thousands of vehicles may have been flooded. “Unfortunately, natural […]
Fix Auto Adds Location to Network in Western Canada
Fix Auto announced the addition of Fix Auto Edmonton Yellowhead to its network, effective September 24. With nearly 20 years of experience in various spheres of the collision repair industry and over 12 years of owning and operating their own business, husband and wife team Patrick and Kristy Heard look to the Fix Auto brand […]
Massachusetts ADALB Overturns Ruling on Use of Video to Appraise Damage; Addresses Used Part Specification
Safety concerns led to repeal of last year’s advisory ruling by the appraiser licensing board on the use of photos and video. Issues new ruling cautioning appraisers on specification of used parts, such as suspension, that could impact safety. Following the appointment of three new members to the Massachusetts Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board by […]
NHTSA Reports Increase in Drivers Text-Messaging in 2014
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saw an increase of nearly 30 percent in drivers that were observed text messaging or visibly manipulating a handheld device in 2014 versus the previous year. According to research by the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the percentage of drivers observed text-messaging or visibly […]
A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace – Part 4
By Vincent J. Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group Part 4 of our annual series by Vincent Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski examines the consolidated U.S. and Canadian collision repair markets. <Part 3 ———————————————————————————– U.S. and Canada Consolidated North America When comparing the property and casualty insurance and auto industry, top ten insurers’ […]
A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace – Part 3
By Vincent J. Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group Part 3 of our annual series by Vincent Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski examines the Canadian collision repair market. <Part 2 ———————————————————————————- Part 4> Canada Canada’s overall market size for both private insurance and consumer-paid vehicle repair revenue was $2.7 billion for 2014, down […]
A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace – Part 2
By Vincent J. Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group Part 2 of our annual series by Vincent Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski examines dealership collision repair facilities, franchise repair centers and $10-20 million MLOs. <Part 1 ———————————————————————————– Part 3> OE Dealership Collision Repair Facilities The National Automobile Dealers Association, NADA, estimates that 6,394 […]
A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace
By Vincent J. Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group Part 1 of our annual series by Vincent Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski examines the largest shop groups in the industry, their growing market share, and an analysis of the numbers. Today’s collision repair industry continues to be influenced and impacted by the convergence […]
Vista Equity Buys Solera for $6.5 Billion
Ending weeks of speculation, the software and services provider to collision repair, automotive and insurance industries announces a deal to sell the company to a private equity firm. Solera Holdings, Inc. last night announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Vista Equity Partners in a transaction valued […]