AutoClaims Direct’s executives are proud supporters of the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation.  CEO Ernie Bray and his wife Peggy ( pictured ) along with  CTO Adam Nazar and VP Tara Esquivel are all proud members of the foundation and Ernie Bray has recently been named to the Board of Directors. This past Tuesday, June 29th, The Carlsbad Charitable Foundation held the annual grants awards in Carlsbad. Two deserving recipients, Interfaith Community Services and Kids Turn San Diego received $24,545 and $20,000 dollars respectively. We’re proud to be part of the CCF and able to help organizations in need.

In Rhode Island,  SB2508 is awaiting the Governor’s signature which would force insurers to utilize independent appraisers for any damage over $1500.00. Click here for the story.

In the is article we found, 28 shops in AZ made it on AAA’s Top Shops list. Click here for the story.

This article and video we found chronicles a vehicle owners complaint against a body shop that kept $1000.00 for a tear down that she alleges never occurred. Click here to watch the video.

Premiums in the P & C industry have dropped for 12 months straight according to this article we found. Click here for the story.

The current average appraisal severity in 2010 for fixed property losses ie. ( Fences, walls, objects other than vehicles) hit by a vehicle is current $3121.00  This important segment of losses are often overlooked by auto claims managers as they assume a “contractor” can simply provide a repair bid and the inside adjuster can pay the loss from this “guesstimate”.  Unfortunately, this often results in overpayments on average of $1500 or more! It always saves to have a trained pair of eyes who know property damage to inspect and negotiate on every loss. This will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run.

The CPI for May which was released today saw a spike in the costs of Auto Body Repair.

Man hit over the head with part of a transmission in body shop fight….Click here for the story.

Allstate Insurance  ”Stripped in Seconds” is touring the nation showing people how fast a car can go from being stolen to stripped  into parts. Click here for the story we found.

We pulled the recent data for 2010 based on the location of vehicle inspections. 62% of auto damage inspections are happening at the vehicle owner’s home. Vehicles inspected at an auto repair shop have a 42% supplement ratio.