Repair facility alleges violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, Fraud and Unjust Enrichment by the largest U.S. insurers. Seeks class action status. A lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania-based collision repair facility was filed April 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, naming State Farm, Allstate, GEICO, […]
ABPA Files Lawsuit Seeking to Overturn Ford Design Patents
Seeks to have body repair part design patents ruled invalid. Alleges Ford uses patents to limit distribution and increase cost of repair parts. On November 25, the Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Ford Global Technologies, LLC that seeks to […]
Massachusetts Bill Seeks State-Set Labor Rate
Insurance commissioner would set minimum rates based on rates in neighboring states. The Massachusetts legislature will once again consider legislation that would establish a state set auto body labor rate. At a hearing scheduled for June 20, the Joint Committee on Financial Services will consider a measure that would set a state minimum labor rate […]
Massachusetts Legislators Pass Right to Repair Bill
Compromise with automakers sends last minute bill to Governor’s desk. Massachusetts lawmakers have passed a last minute compromise bill to settle the Right to Repair dispute over OEM diagnostic information. The language of the bill was proposed in a joint letter on Tuesday to lawmakers from car manufacturer associations and the Right to Repair Coalition. […]
Ameriprise Launches Online Claims Handling for Non-DRP Shops
New ‘Shop of Choice’ program designed to ease repair process through out of network shops. Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance launched a new program last week that it hopes will improve its collision repair claims service through non-direct repair facilities. The company, which primarily writes auto insurance on a direct to consumer model in 44 […]
Last CIC Meeting of 2010 Hits Data Privacy, Repair Standards
New chairman comments on plan for results-oriented process for CIC. Although the results of the recent crash testing of non-OEM parts by Ford and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, previously reported on CollisionWeek, were among the topics at the most recent Collision Industry Conference (CIC), the quarterly gathering focused on a variety of other […]
Aftermarket Parts Certification Program Launched by NSF International
ANSI accredited certifier expects tested bumper parts to be available in 6-8 weeks. NSF International today announced the launch of a new Automotive Parts Certification Program to address concerns regarding consumer safety and compromised automobile crashworthiness from the use of untested aftermarket structural parts. NSF says the one-of-a-kind program verifies both the quality and performance […]
New EPA Rule for Body Shops: Guilty Until Proven Innocent
Every shop in the country has less than two months to comply with the initial notification requirement of the EPA’s new surface coating rule, but there is free help available if you know who to call. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working to implement a new rule to reduce pollutants emitted by the collision […]
Mitchell International and CCC Plan Merger
Two of the three main information providers agree to join forces. CollisionWeek has confirmed from several sources that Mitchell International and CCC Information Services have entered into a definitive agreement to merge the two companies. On Thursday night, some customers of CCC Information Services and Mitchell International had received telephone calls from the companies explaining […]
Allstate Loses Court Appeal to Strike State Insurer-Owned Shop Ban
Judges affirm earlier decision that Texas law banning insurer-owned shops should stand. The U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, New Orleans, has affirmed an earlier court’s decision that ruled it is legal for a state to ban insurance company ownership of collision repair facilities. In the initial 2006 decision, a U.S. District Court in Dallas […]