The debate over whether car insurance companies can mandate the use of certain types of vehicle parts for policy-covered repairs rages on, according to an article in Body Shop Business.
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators Property and Casualty Insurance Committee will meet a week from today to discuss an important piece of model legislation governing rules on repair parts, Body Shop Business says. The sample bill will allow policy issuers to require that cheaper aftermarket parts be used, but the auto repair publication says it would also subject car insurance companies to a series of disclosures and warranties intended to assuage safety concerns.
However, according to Body Shop Business, another industry group is still opposed to any such car insurance legislation.
"In regard to the crash parts model, we've communicated our overarching objections to it consistently both over the last decade when it was introduced and over the last couple of years when it was reintroduced to the committee," Society of Collision Repair Specialists executive director Aaron Schulenburg told the news outlet.
Schulenburg also told Body Shop Business there were a number of loopholes in the bill that would expose repair shops to extra liability if the aftermarket parts should fail, while at the same time doing nothing to meaningfully guarantee the quality of the parts the mechanics would be required to use.
Other umbrella groups agree with SCRS, the industry news source says, citing concerns about certifying aftermarket parts as being just as safe as those made by the original equipment manufacturer. One group, the Automotive Service Association, also told Body Shop Business the disclosure and notification processes in the model legislation were insufficient.
Such debates have already been seen at the state level, with the Massachusetts Right-to-Repair bill set for another attempt at passage in the next legislative session.