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The California Department of Insurance (CDOI) released proposed changes to rules that should improve enforcement of Section 758.5 of the Insurance Code, the anti-steering statute, according to the Collision Repair Association of California (CRA).
CRA was active in efforts to improve California’s anti-steering law and was disappointed when SB 1167 failed last year, according to CRA lobbyist Richard Steffen. The association continued to work with other trade groups to get CDOI to adopt regulations that would make it easier for the department to enforce the existing steering law.
“The proposed steering rules should stop blatant acts of steering,” says Lee Amaradio, president of CRA. “The final proof will be how the Department of Insurance enforces the rules when they become final. I would like to thank the insurance commissioner for adding clarity to a law designed to protect consumer choice. We agree with the new DOI proposed regulations.”
The proposed rules would not allow an insurer to discuss direct repair programs or an alternative facility if the claimant informs the insurer that he or she has selected a specific repair facility. Also, the rules would not allow an insurer to raise questions about the quality of the repair facility selected by the claimant.
Allen Wood, CRA executive director, will testify on the rules at a public hearing at 10 a.m. Feb. 25, in Sacramento. Insurers and other trade groups also are expected to testify.
CRA invites its members to e-mail comments on the proposed rules to Wood ([email protected]) and Steffen ([email protected]). “The value of these proposed rules will be measured by the department’s enforcement,” Wood says. “Clearly, the language is a step in the right direction.”
