● Both you and the customer call the customer’s agent and the manager of the claim office to advise them of the unlawful act. ● Both you and the customer should file separate complaints with the CA Dept. of Insurance. Include a copy of the customer’s hand written signed statement with your complaint, section 12921.3 of the insurance code requires the Dept. of Insurance to receive complaints and inquiries, investigate complaints and prosecute insurers when appropriate. The Dept. of Insurance is required to act on complaints by members of the public concerning the handling of insurance claims. The Dept. of Insurance shall notify the complainant of the receipt of the complaint within 10 working days of receipt. Thereafter, the commissioner shall notify the complainant within 30 days of final action. Q: The insurance company is steering my customer to their direct repair shops by telling them that they don’t guarantee repairs done in my shop, but work done in their direct repair shop is guaranteed for as long as the customer owns the vehicle. Can they do this? A: There is conflict within the Department of Insurance on this issue. The insurance commissioner has stated in public that this practice is unlawful steering, but the attorneys and regulators within the de-
partment have been reluctant to challenge or cite the insurance companies for their practices. Of course the CAA disagrees with the Department of Insurance position and we are continuing to work to challenge their position through regulation, legislation, political pressure or through the courts if necessary. This does not mean you should accept this type of activity, the CAA recommendations are outlined below. The answer to this question is similar to the one answered directly above. Once the customer tells the insurance company he/she has chosen a repair shop, the insurance company cannot use coercive tactics to get the customer to move the vehicle. Some insurance companies say they are required by section 2695.4a of the insurance code to notify their customer of all benefits, coverage, time limits, or other provisions of any insurance policy that may apply to the claim. The problem with that argument is a direct repair type agreement is usually not part of mainstream insurance policies. But even if it is, the insurance company must follow the road map given to them in section 758.5 of the insurance code. Meaning that once a customer expresses a choice of a repair shop, all discussions of where the customers vehicle will be repaired must stop. If it does not stop, the remedy is the same as in the answer to the
previous question. When a vehicle is repaired at a shop recommended by the insurer, the insurance company is required by section 758.5 b-2 to guarantee the repairs. Q: The insurance company is steering my customers to their direct repair shop by telling them that if they leave their vehicle at my shop for repair, it could take as much as ten days for them to get an adjuster to my shop to inspect the vehicle. They insist no repairs can be done until they inspect the vehicle and give their authorization for repair. But, if the customer moves the vehicle to their direct repair shop, repairs can start immediately. This is persuasive because of rental car expenses, also, along the same line, most insurance companies say they won’t pay for supplements unless they inspect and or approve them. In most cases it takes the adjuster many days just to return our call. Actual inspection takes longer. A: There is conflict within the Department of Insurance over the issue of steering at this time. The insurance commissioner has stated in public that this practice is unlawful steering, but the attorneys and regulators within the department have been reluctant to challenge or cite the insurance companies for this practice. Of course the CAA disagrees with the department of insurance position and we are continuing to work to change their position
through regulation, legislation, political pressure, or through the courts if necessary. Unlawful steering is only one part of this problem. The CAA recommendations on the entire problem is outlined below. There is no law that requires an auto repair dealer to wait for an insurance company inspection or authorization before starting repairs after the auto repair dealer has obtained the appropriate authorization to repair from the customer. This applies to supplements also. However, nothing is ever quite that simple is it? There are some caveats that may affect your customer so we need to make sure we protect them, we are going to use some generic policy wording and sections of the insurance code to formulate our answer. Most automobile insurance policies have a provision that gives the insurer the right to inspect the damaged property. The wording of this provision is very simple in some policies and very detailed in others. One thing is clear; the insurance company has the right to inspect the damaged property. See the announcement of the CAA “Fraud” meeting, to be held July 15, on p. 6 this issue. To sign up for the meeting contact Maria at marias@compnow.com to reserve your space. Or Call Maria at Signal Hill Auto Body: 562-4246648.
www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 51