archiveRepair Operations

A new Nebraska bill would prohibit insurers from requiring aftermarket parts on vehicles aged 3 years or less during the time of the crash. “Individuals who just bought a new car don't want aftermarket parts installed,” Legislative Bill 602 sponsor Sen. Rich Pahls, R-Omaha, told a Feb. 16 Banking, Commerce...

A bill supported by the Nebraska Auto Body Association would forbid insurers from totaling out an automobile for any repair bill lower than 75 % of actual cash value. Nebraska Legislative Bill 602 would used likely set the bar even higher, for it exempts certain items from factoring into the...

Solera on Monday announced the rollout from the artificial intelligence photo estimating system Qapter to body shops in Europe and North America. The Audatex parent company said shops could adopt the automated technology “in under 30 days.” It allowed “non-skilled damage appraisers” to acquire an estimate in less than 3...

Audatex parent company Solera last month announced a study of “tech-savvy” customers found a massive proportion would trust an automated claims experience. Solera said it polled 1,500 “tech-savvy” consumers, a combined 500 bodyshops and dealerships and 500 insurers across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America in November-December 2021. The research...

A new Illinois bill would forbid insurers from requesting deviations from OEM repair procedures aside from parts or ADAS calibration tools. The Alliance of Automotive Providers of Illinois is advocating for House Bill 3133, that is nearly identical to 2021’s House Bill 4916. That predecessor failed to go anywhere, but...

The Texas Department of Insurance on Monday confirmed that auto insurers aren’t necessary to offer Texans an appraisal clause choice to resolve a dispute over repair bill reimbursement. The agency also has rewritten its web site to remove what at least as late as Friday had been advice to people...

Progressive earlier this year reported its personal lines profitability rose nearly $1.46 billion this past year despite paying out COVID-19 premium credits, reimbursing higher auto severity, and increasing its advertising spend. The nation’s No. 3 auto insurer, which derives 94 percent of their personal lines revenue from private passenger auto,...

CCC on Wednesday released its annual “Quick studies,” and while the 2021 data might in some aspects capture a real outlier of a year, collision repairers should still hustle over and download the free industry resource. The metrics and analysis within the document examines key trends in consumer behavior throughout...

BMW on Thursday advised shops to find information about OEM repair procedures fresh on every individual vehicle rather than referencing a document from the prior repair. BMW North America collision program manager Jonathan Inzano acknowledged that “it sounds a little crazy,” but a guide could be “once you print it,...

The Iowa Collision Repair Association notched up a legislative victory this session using the passage and enactment of the bill raising the harm threshold for a salvage title. “We wrote that bill,” ICRA lobbyist Scott Weiser said Tuesday of Senate File 230, which Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds into law on...