California Congresswoman Jackie Speier wrote a letter to California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner opposing Assembly Bill 1200, which she said would undo consumer protection laws related to steering.
She said the bill would “turn on its head the consumer protections” that she authored for consumers against insurance company steering.
This bill is sponsored by the Personal Insurance Federation of California, which represents insurers such as Allstate, Farmers, State Farm and Progressive. It attempts to rewrite the proposed anti-steering rules proposed by Poizner by allowing insurers to tell claimants about the benefits of direct repair programs (DRPs) even if the claimant has selected a non-DRP shop, according to the Collision Repair Association of California.
“Far from helping consumers make well-informed choices, the bill would allow insurers to continue to make sales pitches to consumers long after the consumer has decided to select his/her own shop,” Speier wrote. “Any additional pressure by the insurance company has, historically, led to a simple act of steering the consumer toward the insurer-favored shop and away from the consumer’s first choice.”
Consumers should not have to endure insurance company spin, she said.
“The bill itself engages in spin when it labels the statements of the insurer ‘Truthful, non-deceptive, information regarding the benefits of selecting…’ the insurer’s favored body shop,” she wrote. Truthful, non-deceptive and benefits are all spin words to mask the “benefits” of the insurer’s favored shop.”
“Obviously, the language of the bill is so skewed that it provides an easy defense against any claims of untruth, she wrote. “This is a giant loophole in AB 1200.
“The benefit of AB 1200 is obvious to most eyes: There is none,” she wrote. “The truth is that it is a riddle wrapped in the enigma of insurance industry doublespeak. Please oppose AB 1200 and help to defend the right of consumers to exercise a free choice without feeling pressured after making that choice.”
About the Author
Bruce Adams
Bruce Adams is managing editor of Aftermarket Business World magazine and content manager for the distribution channel at UBM Advanstar. He has been an editor with UBM Advanstar Automotive Group since 2007 and formerly was managing editor of ABRN, the collision repair magazine. Bruce is a veteran journalist and communications professional who worked 10 years in corporate communications and publications at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He also worked as a senior editor at Babcox Publications and as a reporter and columnist for a daily newspaper in Northeast Ohio. He also is a former senior editor of Hotel & Motel Management Magazine.