The author of California Assembly Bill 1200 (AB 1200), a bill that would make it easier for insurers to steer customers, will chair a legislative hearing on auto body repair fraud at 2 p.m. Aug. 25 in room 126 of the State Capitol in Sacramento. The Collision Repair Association of California (CRA) opposes the bill and will request an opportunity to testify before the bill's author, Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, who runs the Assembly Business and Professions Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Automotive Repair and the Department of Consumer Affairs.

"We resent the tone of the author who infers that insurers need more control over the repair process because there are too many dishonest collision repairers," says Lee Amaradio, CRA president. "We applaud Congresswoman Jackie Speier for standing in opposition to assemblywoman Hayashi's special interest effort to reward insurers by giving them a blank check to strong arm claimants through the claims process."

Hayashi drew the wrath of collision repairers when she wrote in an opinion piece published Aug. 19 in the San Francisco Chronicle that the industry is “challenged by fraud and misrepresentation.” To read the entire article, click here. Hayashi also noted that CRA lobbyist Richard Steffen was formerly Speier's chief-of-staff.

Amaradio is asking CRA members to come to the hearing to address any untruths that might be presented to committee members.
 
Congresswoman Speier wrote an opinion piece against the bill, while Hayashi countered with her article that says that Speier, who championed California's anti-steering law, misunderstands the intent of AB 1200. To read Speier’s article, click here.

"Assemblywoman Hayashi is trying to steer legislators with the help of insurers," says Steffen. "Her op-ed doesn't mention that major consumer protection organizations are opposed to her effort, but she does mention me – go figure!”

AB 1200, sponsored by the Personal Insurance Federation of California, was amended Aug. 18 to further erode consumer protections. The bill now directs that insurers may talk about DRPs at anytime during the claims process, even when a claimant has selected a non-DRP shop.