Massachusetts Governor appoints new ADALB members, Insurance Commissioner

June 22, 2015
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has appointed Insurance Commissioner Daniel Judson and three new members of the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB).
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has changed the auto insurance landscape in his state with his appointment of new Insurance Commissioner Daniel Judson and three new members of the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB). The new ADALB appointees are Rick Starbard (Rick's Auto Collision, Revere), Bill Johnson (Pleasant Street Auto Body/Hampshire Towing, South Hadley) and Lyle Pare (Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation). They replace outgoing ADALB members Carl Garcia, TJ McClemens and David Krupa.           An attorney and resident of Beverly,  Judson was named the new Insurance Commissioner last April. In addition to spending 15 years as an insurance regulator at the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, he has served as president of Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers (CAR).            Starbard's extensive history as an industry leader and advocate includes a 12-year stint on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA) and more than a decade on the Board of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts (AASP/MA), including five years as president. Additionally, he served as president of AASP National, an organization of collision repair and automotive service professionals with over 10,000 members across the country. His activities also include participating on the joint operating committee for the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG; www.degweb.org), a free service created to help technicians address labor time issues with the industry's major Information Providers.            Starbard launched his business, Rick's Auto Collision, Inc. (originally Rick's Auto Body),  in Revere, MA in 1983. In 1996, he accepted an offer to become a collision repair instructor at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, serving in this capacity for the next 13 years while still operating his shop with his business partner, James LeBlanc. Currently, he serves as an elected member of the Lynn, MA School Committee.            A licensed appraiser for 27 years, Starbard is looking forward to an active and fruitful experience on the ADALB.            “We're fortunate that we have the Board, and we're fortunate that Governor Baker sees the value in it,” he says. “I also think he's made a great decision with the recent appointment of Insurance Commissioner Judson.”An avid car enthusiast and repairer for more than 40 years, Bill Johnson is the owner of Pleasant Street Auto Body and Repair in South Hadley. Additionally, he is the businessman behind the South Hadley companies Hampshire Towing and Amber Energy. Combined, these businesses gross more than $5 million a year in sales.            In addition to his many years in the automotive industry, Johnson has a long history in public service. A former selectman for the Town of Granby for 15 years, he accepted an appointment by then-Governor Swift to serve as the public member of the Board of Registration of Real Estate Appraisers from 2003 to 2008. He has also served as an alternate member of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and has been a School Committee member for Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School since 2009. Johnson is looking forward to serving the public in his new role with the ADALB.            “My biggest hope is that we can effect change as a Board and have all the players follow the CMR as it relates to negotiations and fair play,” he says. “I'm not the type of person to make false promises. All I can say to the industry is that I'm going to try my hardest to make necessary changes and make sure the rules are being followed.”            A Licensed Auto Damage Appraiser for nearly three decades, Pare is a 20-year veteran of Plymouth Rock who has been in his current position as unit supervisor since 2000. His past insurance industry experience includes a stint as an appraiser at Hanover Insurance. Pare first became interested in the automotive industry while a student at Chicopee Comprehensive High School. While a junior and senior, he worked part-time at area body shops as part of the school's Co-Op program. This led to a six-year stint at Chuck's Auto Service in Chicopee prior to his first insurance job at Hanover.            Pare believes that the ADALB serves a fundamental purpose in the Commonwealth, especially when it is operated in an efficient and effective fashion.            “Massachusetts has always had good pro-consumer laws and regulations, and the ones applying to auto appraisals are no exception,” he says. “The problem is that nobody has really been held accountable to the regulations and laws. It's time to enforce them. Some appraisers in Massachusetts need to be brought before the Board and told, 'This is a regulation; this is a law. If you don't start writing a fair appraisal based on these laws and regulations, then we're either going to warn you or suspend your license.' I think more of that needs to be done.”

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