In a statement released on July 25, the Nebraska Auto Body Association (NABA) cautioned collision repair shops to consider the business impacts, including administrative times and costs, of insurer-mandated parts bidding initiatives.
NABA has joined other state and national collision repair associations that have raised concerns about what it calls the "intrusive practice of insurer-mandated parts procurement programs."
“Lack of regulatory oversight allows insurers to take more and more control over the collision repair industry, from influencing estimating databases, manipulating labor rates and controlling the repair process,” said NABA Director Norbert Zaenglein. “Repairers who believe that [parts bidding] will be the final encroachment into their business are seriously mistaken. The squeeze by insurers will be relentless, and claimants will pay the price in terms of repairs that do not restore the vehicle as promised under the policy of insurance.”
Zaenglein says he documented problems for claimants created by a lack of market conduct oversight in automotive glass claims in the book, "In Dangerous Hands: Automobiles, Insurance & Political Corruption in Nebraska." In the book, he says that all states have ineffective market conduct regulation that gives insurers free reign over the collision industry. He believes state regulation of insurers’ claims settlement practices is seriously compromised, and that creates and sustains all of the foundational problems faced by today’s collision repair industry.
“Without adequate regulation of the insurance industry, it’s up to shops to stand up to intrusive mandates by the insurance industry and get actively involved in fixing a very broken insurance regulatory process," Zaenglein said.
More information:
To receive a free printable PDF format of "In Dangerous Hands" or buy a paperback copy, e-mail Norbert Zaenglein at [email protected].
