In an effort to protect consumers and stop the practice of ”title washing” by shady salvage car dealers, Liberty mutual released a statement yesterday that they will provide a Carfax report on every car declared a total loss and sold for salvage over the past five years and going forward. This would be available then to any person purchasing the vehicle through the Carfax report.
Monthly Archives: July 2008
Better get your license and insurance if you ride ATV’s in SW Colorado.
Southwest Colorado counties passed a law requiring licenses and insurance for ATV vehicles. As of now the state allows kids as young as 10 to ride them. This means that insurance carriers who specialize in Specialty type vehicles will see an increase in policies as those who don’t adhere to the law face a $150 fine.
Honda Hybrid Spy Photos….
Road and Track had a sneak peak of the newest competitor to the Toyota Prius.
Click Here for the story. and photos
Redwood City, CA Body Shop In Big Trouble!
Hot off the California DOI website:
NEWS: 2008 PRESS RELEASE
For Release: July 18, 2008
Media Calls Only: 916-492-3566
Redwood City Duo Charged In Insurance Fraud Scheme
SACRAMENTO ― Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that Department of Insurance investigators assisted in developing felony insurance fraud criminal complaints against Bita Imani, the owner of Redwood-city auto repair shop Group Specialists, and Mehran Baranriz, the general manager.
The two are charged with 56 counts of Presenting Fraudulent Claims in violation of Penal Code section 550(A)(1) and five counts of Grand Theft by False Pretenses in violation of Penal Code Section 487(A)/532. In addition, Imani is charged with four counts of Tax Fraud in violation of Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 19705(A) and 19706 and Baranriz is charged with two counts of Perjury in violation of Penal Code section 118.
“Insurance fraud will not be tolerated,” said Commissioner Poizner. “Every Californian pays the equivalent of a $500 tax per year because of insurance fraud. My department will continue to work tirelessly to find and prosecute scam artists.”
From January 2003 to March 2007, Imani and Baranriz billed 25 insurance companies related to 236 insurance claims for auto repair work that was not performed. Customers and insurance companies were told that repairs were necessary due to either rodent damage or water damage, thereby triggering “comprehensive” coverage under auto insurance policies. The investigation revealed that the rodent and water damage were staged and that the parts billed to insurance companies were not replaced and repairs were not done. The total amount of insurance fraud exceeds $1.2 million.
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge John Grandsaert issued arrest warrants for both Imani and Baranriz. On June 26, 2008, Imani and Baranriz were arrested and booked in the San Mateo County Jail.
San Mateo County District Attorney Inspector Nora Fasshauer investigated the case. The California Franchise Tax Board and the California Department of Insurance assisted in the investigation.
If anyone has any concerns about repair work by Group Specialists, please call the San Mateo County Insurance Fraud Unit at 650-363-4936.
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Please visit the Department of Insurance Web site at www.insurance.ca.gov. Non media inquiries should be directed to the Consumer Hotline at 800.927.HELP. Callers from out of state, please dial 213.897.8921. Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD), please dial 800.482.4833.
Current Industry Parts Utilization Averages.
In mid 2008 the trend of LKQ usage has moved upwards while aftermarket has seen a slight drop. OEM use has declined slightly but has remained relatively stable.
Copyright © 2008 AutoClaims Direct
Volvo hopes for zero traffic fatalities by 2020
Volvo is working on safety features, collision avoidance technology and high tech solutions that by 2020 may make fatalities in a Volvo unheard of. This video provides some insight on their research. Click Here.
Total Losses Down In 2008 By 2.59%!
In a study conducted by AutoClaims Direct Inc. The percentage of auto claims in which a vehicle was deemed a total loss has decreased in 2008 by 2.59% In the first 6 months of 2007, 25.14% of all vehicles involved in an auto claim were rendered a total loss, during the same period this year only 22.55% were total losses. The biggest drop occurred in Domestic vehicles where 29.77% of vehicles in 2007 were total losses but only 22.23% were totalled in 2008.
Copyright © 2008 AutoClaims Direct
Interesting Article On Car Bumpers…..
Here’s an interesting article on why today’s bumpers are ineffective
Will Exodus From Large Vehicles and SUV’s Result In Lower Total Loss Claims Settlements?
With high energy costs and rush by consumers to snap up smaller fuel efficient vehicles, the demand of SUV’s and large vehicles has plummeted again. According to the Manheim current monthly used car index, wholesale SUV prices are down 27.5%, and large pickups down 25.4% when compared to a year ago. With less demand, the salvage value on these larger vehicles are likely to drop as vendors who deal in these parts will in turn see lower demand. The “Actual Cash Value” in claims settlement offers could see a significant reduction on SUV’s and larger vehicles due to decreased values and demand as well. The ACV values are determined by market research in various ways by insurers to settle total losses. With what seems like a mass exodus away from larger vehicles, the owners of large vehicles may now see the values of their vehicles drop dramatically when settling total loss claims.
California Paint Cap Bill Passes 75-0
California state senate bill 1371 passed yesterday 75-0.
The most recent bill language agreed on prohibits paint capping by not allowing insurers to “…offering or paying an amount that is unrelated to an accepted industry methodology used in determining paint and materials charges.”
UNOFFICIAL BALLOT MEASURE: SB 1371 AUTHOR: Correa TOPIC: Insurance: automobile repair capping. DATE: 07/14/2008 LOCATION: ASM. FLOOR MOTION: SB 1371 Correa Senate Third Reading By COTO (AYES 75. NOES 0.) (PASS) AYES **** Adams Aghazarian Anderson Arambula Beall Benoit Berg Berryhill Blakeslee Brownley Caballero Carter Cook Coto Davis De La Torre De Leon DeSaulnier DeVore Duvall Dymally Emmerson Eng Evans Feuer Fuentes Fuller Furutani Gaines Galgiani Garcia Garrick Hancock Hayashi Hernandez Horton Houston Huff Huffman Jeffries Jones Karnette Keene Krekorian La Malfa Laird Levine Lieber Lieu Ma Maze Mendoza Mullin Nakanishi Nava Niello Nunez Parra Portantino Price Ruskin Salas Saldana Silva Smyth Solorio Spitzer Strickland Swanson Torrico Tran Villines Walters Wolk Bass NOES **** ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING ********************************* Charles Calderon Leno Plescia Sharon Runner Soto