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Letter to the Editor

California Autobody Association Voices Concern Over Recent Insurance Investment in Caliber

SACRAMENTO, Ca. -- The California Autobody Association (CAA) has a number of major concerns about the recently announced minority investment by The Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club of Southern California in Caliber Collision Centers of Irvine, California.

"The California Autobody Association has been aware of the possibility of insurance companies investing in the collision repair industry in California for a long time," states David McClune, Executive Director. "We have been in continual communication with the Department of Insurance, the Bureau of Automotive Repairs, and the office of Senator Jackie Speier's throughout this year about this kind of partnership. We want to know what the consumer issues are, what kind of anti-trust issues there might be, and what business process changes this might create."

The CAA wants to maintain the consumers right to make a choice in the automotive repair process. This years Senate Bill 1988, signed into law on January 1st, specifically requires insurance companies to provide each insured with an Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights. At a minimum, this advises consumers that they have the right to select an auto body repair shop of their choice and that an insurer may not require this work to be done at a particular shop.

"The CAA has had numerous meetings with the Department of Insurance this year on various issues," says Warwick Bryan, current CAA President, and owner of Precision Auto Body in Palmdale. "The Department of Insurance feels the issue of insurance companies owning body shops is an important issue and has been looking into it."

"This is an extremely important issue that we will focus our attention on," adds McClune. "With the help of our Attorney/Lobbyist Jack Molodanof, and our Executive Committee, we have been positioning our association to address these kinds of issues for our members. We will not stop pushing till we get satisfactory responses from all concerned parties on this issue."

The California Autobody Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization comprised of approximately 800 collision repair businesses and associated professionals belonging to the collision repair industry.

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