The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) held an open board meeting Jan. 16 in Palm Springs, CA, a day prior to the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) being held in the same location.
In addition to updates on programs and initiatives the association has been working on for the collision repair industry, the meeting included a presentation by Tony Cignarale, deputy commissioner of consumer services for the California Department of Insurance.
Cignarale discussed some of the tools and resources available to help consumers and businesses when they encounter challenges in the insurance claims process. He said his department receives about 50,000 written complaints a year, about 42% involving auto insurance and about 10% of which are from shops.
“Yes, we do handle body shop complaints,” Cignarale said. “I know some [state insurance] departments don’t, and there was a time few decades ago when we didn’t either.”
Like two other state insurance commissioners who spoke at SCRS meetings last year, Cignarale said his department can only do what state laws allow it to do.
“We do get some tension…with regard to some of the outcomes because we’re not a judge, we’re not a jury,” he said. “We don’t say, OK, you want five hours for this operation, they said two, so we’re going to split it the middle and say three. We don’t have that authority.”
A full report on the SCRS meeting by Autobody News writer John Yoswick will be posted to our website and printed in a future monthly issue.
