“Too often we hear of situations in which an insurer flatly refuses to pay reasonable rates or for activities that the professional repairer has determined to be necessary for the safe and proper repair of a customer’s vehicle. In the current economic times, many consumers simply cannot afford to pay for those repairs themselves and take their insurers to court for reimbursement,” said E. L. Eversman, founder of the AEPI. “Insurers know this and engage in what we believe are predatory practices to avoid paying a claim in full. This means that the consumer does not receive a proper repair of the damaged vehicle, or the collision repairer is not fully paid for all of the work performed. Either way, the outcome is unacceptable.”
To document these issues and inform attorneys, judges, and consumers of the frequency of occurrence and results of other cases and rulings, the AEPI created the “Legal Cases” section of its website where previously unavailable case decisions, transcripts, and hearing materials will now be available.
“We already have some great materials posted,” said Eversman, “Including the statement by California Judge James G. Bertoli in which he declared that State Farm’s collision repair labor rate survey ‘from a statistical standpoint would get a first year college student a flunking grade.’ That is the type of indictment of an insurance company’s method of paying claims that we should all know about.”
AEPI needs the help of the community to discover that these cases or hearings took place. “Most of these decisions come from small claims matters,” Eversman explained. “They don’t get reported to any of the national legal databases where they are readily accessible, but these decisions can be important and influential. We just need to know about them so the AEPI can track down the materials for posting.”
Anyone with knowledge of lawsuits, arbitrations, or appraisal hearings on collision or glass repair payments should contact the AEPI via email at [email protected] and include “Legal” in the subject line.
The Automotive Education & Policy Institute is a non-profit organization established to assist consumers to understand motor vehicle safety, insurance, repair, and related issues. It also assists motor vehicle repair professionals to understand and fulfill their obligations to consumers. More information about the Automotive Education & Policy Institute is available at: www.autoepi.org. This project is made available through a grant by the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers.
