Consumer advocate / attorney Erica Eversman has sent a letter to the Ohio Department of insurance (DOI) regarding insurance companies' use of unregistered collision repair facilities in their DRP Networks and also the DOI's failure to address the issue despite her and others' actions.

"For the last several years, the Ohio Board of Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration, collision repair organizations, individual collision repairers, activists and concerned citizens like myself have repeatedly brought this serious issue to the Ohio Department of insurance with no result," the letter, addressed to Director of Policy Susan Real, reads.

Eversman goes on to say that she personally met with two officials of the DOI on two separate dates to alert them of the issue but has so far not received a response.  She said the first meeting was with Superintendent Mary Jo Hudson on June 11, 2007, and the second was with Anne Jewel, the DOI's regulatory ombudsman and assistant director of policy, on March 14, 2008.

Eversman claims that the DOI's in action is the result of it consistently taking the position that it has no jurisdiction to prohibit insurance companies from using unregistered collision repair businesses in their DRP's or has no responsibility to prevent insurers from recommending illegally operating repair facilities to consumers.

"No one has asked the Department of Insurance to make collision repair shops comply with the registration requirements set forth in Ohio Revised Code 4775.01.  That is the responsibility of the Ohio Board of Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration and enforced via the Attorney General's office," Eversman says.  "We have only asked this Department to hold insurers accountable for their acts of recommending that consumers patronize illegally operating collision repair facilities."

Hudson could not be reached for comment today, but in a previous article published in the March 2008 issue of BodyShop Business, she stated that insurers recommending unregistered shops "is an issue and we will continue to look into it.  We have been in the process of doing some restructuring and other work here, but it's a very valid point."

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About Safe Collision Repairs

For more than ten years, David Williams of Wheelersburg, Ohio's Safe Collision Repairs has worked with consumers and attorneys in the tri-states of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia to expose unsafe auto repairs and maximize recovery on auto insurance claims. Some of the company's services include Post-Repair Inspections, Prepurchase Inspections, Auto Damage Assessments, Lemon Law Investigations, Expert Court Testimony and Diminished Value Calculations using an advanced version of Network Information Communication's WreckCheck program.

Inquiries can be directed to: Safe Collision Repairs David A. Williams Post Office Box 70 Wheelersburg, Ohio 45694 (740) 456-1111 (740) 355-4056

Disclaimer

The content expressed on this website and in the article above represents the opinions of David A. Williams. Williams is neither an attorney nor public insurance adjuster, but is an expert, consultant, and writer specializing in the field of automotive collision repair and valuations. The information provided herein is not intended to be a substitute for legal or insurance advice. Because collision repair is a continually evolving science, any text, materials or links found herein are provided without claim or guarantee to their accuracy or completeness.