California A.B. 1200, which would allow insurers to discuss benefits offered by their companies any time during the claims process, was passed by the State Assembly Monday.
The bill, which was amended from its original version (click
HERE for more information), would add the following to the California Insurance Code anti-steering statute:
Nothing in this section restricts the ability of an insurer to explain benefits the insurer provides as part of the claims process.
The Personal Insurance Federation of California and other bill supporters believe that some body shops want to “lock-in” a customer by “depriving them of an informed choice about alternatives, including an auto insurer's DRP”, and that the bill “would provide an appropriate balance of the need for claimants to understand the benefits of an auto insurance policy, including DRP benefits, and the freedom to choose an auto repair shop without auto insurer coercion,” according to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.
The California Autobody Association (CAA) has countered that, under the bill, it’s possible for insurers to make statements to claimants that either “disparage or discourage” the services available at a non-DRP shop, according to the committee. Both the CAA and the Collision Repair Association of California (CRA) oppose the bill.
Click
HERE for more information about A.B. 1200.