The Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA) has announced that the Massachusetts Legislature’s House of Representatives has unanimously passed House Bill 5056 and sent it to the Senate, where once passed, would need to be signed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who has already endorsed and signed into law sweeping auto insurance reforms.
The bill is the result of the work of the Auto Body Working Group established several years ago by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Ron Mariano, which included all interested parties and key members of legislature, including Senate Chairman Stephen Buoniconti. It included some of the strongest anti-steering language ever drafted and addresses not only auto body steering, but glass company steering and rental car steering issues as well. In addition, the bill would authorize Massachusetts repair shops to send, and insurers to approve, supplement request via Internet rather than the current personal inspection requirement, would make it illegal for insurers to offer to warranty or guarantee repairs, requires shops to increase their equipment requirements for licensure, requires insurers to distribute one list free of any highlights or asterisks that identify the shops as a participant in an insurer program, and require the Commissioner of Insurance to conduct a “Market Conduct” study by the end of this year. House Bill 5056 is also an important and necessary compliment to the success of the Auto Insurance Reform measures already enacted and advocated for by Governor Deval Patrick. It would establish accountability for insurers and repairers and allow a competitive free market system to replace the overly burdensome statutes and regulations that have become barriers to both consumers free choice of collision repairer, glass repair, and rental car company, allowing those companies to compete fairly and freely against one another for customers. “Massachusetts recently passed laws promoted by Governor Patrick to encourage competition in the insurance industry,” says MABA spokesman Stephen Regan. “House Bill 5056 is the final piece of that puzzle and will compliment the Governor’s initiative by creating more competition, more products, and better services by collision repairers and other segments of our industry.” Regan said MABA is encouraging all collision repairers in the state to contact their local state Senator and get them to support passage of House Bill 5056. If someone is unaware of who their Senator or State Representatives is they may go to the following link at the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office and type in their home or business address at: www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php or they can contact the MABA office at (800) ITS-MABA. | 
