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VOL. 31 ISSUE 12 DECEMBER 2013
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Collision Repair Classes, Meetings and Exhibitors Attract Shops to Largest SEMA Ever by John Yoswick
The 2013 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show attracted more than 126,000 people—attendees and exhibitor representatives—to Las Vegas in November, filling the massive Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding spaces with all things automotive. Show organizers say that count was up 7 percent over the previous year and was the highest ever. The collision repair and refinish section of the show boasted just over 200 exhibitors, a small but rapidly growing percentage of the more than 2,300 companies and organizations exhibiting at SEMA this year.
Although attendees could easily spend several days on the show floor
pecial SSEMA
Coverage coverage Pages: 1, 12, 16, 20, 22, 26, 28, 30, 36, 39, 41, and 43
The TV Cast of The Car Chasers: (from left) Eric Ables, Perry Barndt, Jeff Allen, Autobody News’ Barbara Davies, and Meggan Bailey. The Car Chasers is filmed at Flat 12 Gallery in Lubbock, TX.
Louisiana Insurer of Last Resort Will Pay $4,500 to Any Remaining 2005 Hurricane Claimants
million to roughly 18,500 claimants after Sullivan ruled against it last year. Citizens has budgeted $40 million to handle any claims resulting from the settlement, according to Chief Financial Officer Steve Cottrell. Sullivan’s 2012 judgment against Citizens worked out to $5,000 per claim, with 40 percent going to attorneys’ fees. Steve Mauterer, class counsel for the plaintiffs, told Sullivan that the lower settlement amount is in the best interest of the remaining property owners because it wraps up the case after years of litigation. See Last Resort Payouts, Page 15
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A state-run insurance company of last resort has settled the remaining claims in a class-action lawsuit tied to how it handled claims after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. State District Judge Henry Sullivan gave final approval to the settlement under which Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will pay $4,500 to any remaining claimants. Each claimant will get about $3,000 after one-third is taken out to cover attorneys’ fees. It is not clear how many people will come forward to collect on the settlement and how much it will cost Citizens, which already paid out $108
to see it all, there were a number of meetings, events and classes specific
See Biggest SEMA Ever, Page 4
PartsTrader, Insurer Mandates Draw Industry Ire at Collision Industry Conference Held with SEMA by John Yoswick
Following a panel discussion on parts procurement at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Las Vegas in early November, attendees spent nearly an hour voicing criticism of mandated use of any particular system. Tom McGarry of Axalta Coatings ProfitNet Management System noted that unlike several other systems, PartsTrader interfaces with estimating systems but not management systems. He also said a shop ordering parts might need to use one Tom McGarry electronic system in order to receive an automaker rebate, but the shop’s preferred vendor might use a different system, with State Farm requiring yet another. “It’s not a procurement decision anymore; it’s a marketing decision,” McGarry said. “How do you handle that?” Nebraska shop owner Andy Dingman, who participated on the
CIC panel, agreed that shops could be faced with using multiple systems. “And that’s going to be very efficient,” he added, sarcastically. California shop owner Randy Stabler, also on the panel, agreed. “The challenge here is the insurance community doesn’t understand by and large that when they increase the body shop’s costs, they have to pay for it somewhere,” Stabler said. “Lowering the payout isn’t increasing efficiency. If the insurers could take that Randy Stabler back to their corporations and figure out ways to reduce the body shop’s operating costs, then they can share in it, but reducing the payout doesn’t increase efficiency.” Stabler also said, however, that he’s “kind of perplexed” why the PartsTrader mandate has become “such a lightening rod” for an industry that has been accepting insurer mandates since the early days of computerized estimating. See Industry Ire, Page 6
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