Car-repair legislation backed by insurance companies wins a round

[The Straight Story]

Car-repair legislation backed by insurance companies wins a round
The California Senate approves a bill that would make it easier for insurers to steer clients to company-selected garages. The bill is expected to go to Schwarzenegger next week.

Reporting from Sacramento - An insurance industry-backed bill that would make it easier for auto insurers to persuade motorists to fix their dents only at company-selected garages won a key vote today in the state Senate and should be on the governor's desk next week.

The heavily lobbied proposal, which was opposed by an unlikely coalition of car dealers, auto body shops, trial attorneys and consumer activists, would ease prohibitions against so-called "steering" by insurance companies to favored body shops.

The bill, AB 1200 by Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D-Castro Valley), passed the Senate on a vote of 21-17. It's expected to easily win a final endorsement in the Assembly. For now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken no public position on the measure.

The bill would change a 6-year-old state law that requires insurance companies to tell claimants they have a legal right to get their car repaired at any body shop they want. Insurers can recommend taking the vehicle to one of their pre-picked facilities -- only if the car owner has no personal preference.

Consumer advocates opposing the bill said it would give insurers a license to try to convince customers to send their cars to the company shops, which often are contracted to provide low-cost repairs, even after vehicle owners have picked their own facility.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insure-car-repairs5-2009sep05,0,1515586.story

[ejpoeta]

1. i live in NY and my sister has Allstate... they've had it for years apparently.

well, when she had to get her windshield replaced, she had no choice where to go... she has to use this one person in the city who comes and takes your car and fixes it. the guy apparently parked his car in the paid lot that my sister uses and took her car, and then tried to make my sister pay for his ticket for parking in the paid lot without paying. and they did a crappy job. she again needs to get her windshield replaced... hopefully she has by now because she needed it inspected also....and she doesn't want to use this same person. but she has no choice. i asked her why she doesn't look around and see what the policies at other places are and if they want to stay with allstate, then call and tell them that if they do not allow her to use a different person, then she will leave and go elsewhere, where they do not have such restrictions on where they can go. This is ridiculous!! I mean, shouldn't the consumer have the ability to get the car fixed at a place THEY choose!!! of course not, how silly of me.

[daa]

4. In Georgia I had a broken windshield

Nationwide said they would send out an adjuster and I said just send somebody out to fix it. The guy did a great job in no time at all within a day or so. I could have gone anywhere but why should I become a windshield expert. Hopefully they would pick someone that would not get a lot of complaints.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. A Democrat backed this? Mary Hayashi, you're toast!

The bill, AB 1200 by Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D-Castro Valley), passed the Senate on a vote of 21-17. It's expected to easily win a final endorsement in the Assembly. For now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken no public position on the measure.

[rucky]

3. Does the Government enforce RICO laws anymore?

Or are they just letting the pols in for a piece of the action?