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Steve Behrndt
USA
47 Posts |
 Posted - 02/10/2010 : 12:01:15
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LEGALIZED WRECK CHASING
House Bill 2041 is legalized wreck chasing or reversed wreck chasing on behalf of the insurance industry and introduced through the House Insurance Committee. Legislated Wreck Chasing equates to making it legal for the insurance company to take over the automobile investment of the unaware consumer and delivering the damaged automobile to the insurance company’s contracted direct repair facility. The ultimate anti-consumer act of controlling the property of the policyholder or claimant and eliminating a consumer’s choice of their repair facility. Utilizing their vast market power to lobby this legislation onto the desks of legislators who do not fully grasp the problems of insurance company consumer steering the insurance industry has taken the ugly world of the wreck chaser and sophisticated it through automated dispatch centers and motor clubs for their financial benefits of cost cutting and cheap repairs.
Many insurance companies such as Allstate, Geico and AAA Keystone operate their own national and regional 1-800-motor clubs. Sold as a benefit to motorists as an emergency roadside assistance program. The club member purchases membership to protect themselves in the event of an automobile breakdown, accident or need other than towing. Dialing the 1-800-number will send out an insurance company contracted towing vendor who retrieves the damaged vehicle and delivers it to another contracted Direct Repair Partner of the same insurance company such as Allstate’s Pro-shop and Geico’s Geico’s Express Repair.
State Farm Insurance Company, Progressive Insurance Company, Nationwide Insurance and others utilize towing motor clubs such as Cross Country Motor Club and Asurion Motor Club where the tower is contracted to the Motor Club, which in turn is contracted with the insurance company. The situation is the same as the tower is directed by the motor club as to destination of the consumer’s vehicle.
The only deterrent in this scenario is the consumer’s right to choose where the vehicle is transported and who repairs the automobile investment. House Bill 2041 is focused on eliminating the consumer’s consent in both definition and language content. Consumer steering and directing is illegal in Pennsylvania however to enforce the law which governs consumer steering (367) one must apply to the Department of Insurance for enforcement. The Department of Insurance will usually turn a blind eye to the violation of consumer steering by asking the insurance company representative if they in fact steered the consumer. Did you break the law? Then using the insurance companies answer to send out a non-enforcement letter making enforcement issues mute throughout the Commonwealth. Consumers who have taken the same steering issues to the Pa. Attorney General’s office are advised the complaints are outside of the AG’s jurisdiction and must be handled through the Insurance Department.
House Bill 2041 encourages a continued disregard for the consumer as the legislation falls again between the administrative responsibility of the Insurance Department and the Attorney General’s Office.
Stephen E. Behrndt
Crawford’s Auto Center, Inc., President
Pennsylvania Collision Trade Guild, Director
610-269-1610
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HB 2041 - LEGALIZED WRECK CHASING
