INDUSTRY Top Auto Insurers' Market Share Drops
The top five auto insurers saw a decline in 2012 after a decade of increases in market share and control.
According to CollisionWeek, the Big Five have 52.09% of the private auto market, down 1.22 points from 53.31% in 2011. Likewise, the combined market share of the top ten companies also dropped in 2012, to 69.56 % from 71.26 % in 2011. Only GEICO and Zurich saw their share increase from 2011 to 2012.
LEGISLATIVE MADA at the State Capitol
MADA Legislative Team offers a mid-session summary of legislative action on bills that are of interest to MADA Collision & Service Council members:
Sales Tax on Services HF677/SF552 MADA testified against the Governor’s proposed sales tax on services which would expand to include business-to-business services such as accounting, advertising, legal, architectural, auctioneering, technology and other various services. The bill would add more than $10 million in new taxes on services purchased by MADA members, according to MADA estimates. Despite the Governor’s decision to drop the services tax from his revised budget proposal, a sales tax on auto repair services is still a potential since it is included in another bill (HF1449). Also, as MADA has warned in previous Legislative Bulletins, we have not yet seen budget proposals from the House and Senate DFL leadership.
Shop Supplies Taxed at Retail Instead of Wholesale HF426/SF326 MADA supports this bill to allow auto repair facilities to tax shop supplies at retail instead of at wholesale. This bill was heard and laid over for possible inclusion in the House Omnibus Tax bill. MADA will continue to advocate for this bill’s inclusion.
Preserving Dealer-Owned Repair Shops’ Ability to Sell Abandoned Vehicles for Scrap HF1214/SF934, SF923/HF1095, and SF1270. MADA is working to preserve dealer-owned repair shops’ ability to sell vehicles to scrap dealers without having to produce a title or get clearance from lien holders. MADA has successfully added provisions to both bills. The issue of requiring titles on vehicles sold for scrap is currently being negotiated in the context of three different bills and MADA will continue to monitor any action on this issue.
INDUSTRY I-CAR Rejects Industry Proposal
I-CAR won’t support OEM repair procedure initiatives requested by industry organizations, including SCRS, ASA, AASP and Assured Performance Network.
I-CAR’s Board of Directors acted March 7 to reject the stance that OEM repair procedures are the recognized industry repair standard.
The board’s position is based on the I-CAR charter to represent the best interests of the industry in an unbiased manner. While OEM procedures are the recognized industry baseline, it’s possible to identify repair processes that support or supplement those standards within a commitment to complete and safe repairs. Portions of the proposal that are consistent with I-CAR’s strategic initiatives will go forward.
UPDATE: April 15, 2013 A group of state repair organizations have asked I-CAR to clarify what standards exist other than OEM. A letter to the I-CAR Board said if OEM repair procedures are not a standard of repair, "we respectfully request that I-CAR further expand upon what other types of repair procedures are utilized in the development of our industry’s training curriculum, if OEM procedures create the potential for disadvantage to certain market segments. We would like to request that I-CAR further clarify its position relative to industry standards of repair."
