Is it Legal for Insurers to Settle Losses for My Customers’ Vehicles?
Why doesn’t the DOI enforce the contract between the vehicle owner and the insurer? And how is it legal for insurers and DRP shops to settle losses for my customers’ vehicles?
Reader’s Choice: Are Consumers Entitled to Have Their Vehicles Repaired According to OE Recommendations?
Is the vehicle owner, on insurance-paid repairs, entitled to have the repairs done according to the vehicle manufacturer’s repair recommendations?
John Eagle Collision Dallas Lawsuit: Can You Afford $42 Million?
Can your shop afford a $42 million award because you let insurers interfere with your repair judgment?
Thumbs Down to Insurers’ ‘Rule of Thumb’
Shops may find themselves in trouble if they allow insurers to use the “rule of thumb” method to reimburse for paint materials – because selling goods at a price below the acquisition cost is typically illegal.
Is It Okay for an Insurer to Combine Claims in Unrelated Vehicle Accidents?
A third-party claimant came to our non-DRP shop for repairs. Four days later, the at-fault party in his claim got into an unrelated accident, creating a second claim. Now, the insurer is deducting the first claim from the second, even though our customer had nothing to do with the second claim. Can the insurer do this?
Challenging Insurers’ Labor Rate Surveys
When an insurance adjuster states, “We only pay $XX per hour based on your area,” are they legally required to produce their market survey to support such a claim to their supposed fact?
Is It Illegal for Insurers to Cap Paint and Materials in Ohio?
Answered by Erica Eversman, attorney and consumer advocate, Vehicle Information Services, Inc.
Are Insurers Infringing Upon Consumers’ Rights in the Repair Process?
Some insurers have begun asserting that they have an “interest” in the repair. Others are “electing to repair” policyholders’ vehicles without their consent. A look at two court cases might shed some light on whether they’re in the right.
An Analysis of Progressive Insurance vs. North State Custom
What North State Custom’s successful defense against a lawsuit brought by Progressive means for the collision repair industry.
Legal to Waive a Customer’s Insurance Deductible for Auto Body Repair?
Insurers will say that collision repairers waiving a consumer’s deductible equals insurance fraud. But unless your state law requires a shop to collect an insured’s deductible, you have no obligation to do so. After all, the contract for repair is with the consumer, not the insurer, so arrangements you make with the consumer are per your contract only.
JUNE COVER STORY: Protect Your Interests
With the proper legal advice, you can use these documents to establish you and your customers’ rights, obligations and interests at the outset of your business relationship.
A Legal Primer
Knowledge of your legal rights and your customers’ legal rights is critical to your long-term success.
