California A.B. 1200 – a bill amending the state’s anti-steering law to allow insurers to discuss policy benefits, including DRPs, at any time during the claims process – hit a bump in the road when it failed to get Senate approval during its third and final reading Monday. But the bill, which California repairers oppose, still has some hope: The Senate unanimously agreed to reconsider and vote on A.B. 1200 one final time, possibly before the end of the week.
The bill has sparked a heated debate this summer between collision repairers, members of the insurance industry and current and former members of California’s Assembly. Last week, A.B. 1200 author Mary Hayashi and California anti-steering code author/U.S. Rep. Jackie Spier had dueling op-ed pieces in the San Francisco Chronicle, calling into question the integrity of insurers and repairers, respectively (click HERE to read more).
California repairers and consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog say the bill gives insurers free reign to promote DRPs and steer customers to preferred shops (click HERE to read more), while A.B. 1200’s supporters say that without amendments to anti-steering code, consumers will be deprived of complete information about their repair options (click HERE to read more).
The California Autobody Association and Collision Repair Association of California have both actively lobbied against the bill’s passage.
Click HERE for legislative updates on A.B. 1200.
