Editorial: Let auto insurers compete on repair choice
Owners of small and independent auto glass repair shops appear to have a case for modest state intervention to maintain fairness within their industry here in Michigan.
The alternative, they say, is to watch a growing number of smaller glass repair shops disappear, along with the jobs and other community benefits they provide. That should be an important consideration for lawmakers who'd probably rather not have to sort through this dispute.
The smaller glass repair shops charge that industry giant Safelite AutoGlass competes unfairly because it not only is in the repair business but controls much of an auto insurance company-backed process that determines where customers go to get chipped, cracked or broken windows fixed.
Columbus, Ohio-based Safelite operates in all 50 states, has 10,000 employees and 3.8 million customers per year, according to an industry publication.
For a decade or so, auto insurers such as AAA Michigan and Progressive Direct have used third-party administrators to help them get the lowest possible rates on the auto glass repair claims they pay. Vehicle owners needing glass repairs must go through third-party administrators to have their claims honored by insurers.
Car recyclers see market rebound
After a 2011 that represented a rebound from the lows of the recession years, auto recycling industry members and suppliers are hoping for a return to stability and greater prosperity. The near future, according to interviews with executives in the field, will be driven by new markets, new technologies and the ultimate replacement of the country’s aging fleet of automobiles.
“2011 was not a record-breaking year, but it was close,” said Curt Spry, scrap sales manager at Al-Jon Manufacturing, Ottumwa, Iowa, which manufactures metal recycling and landfill compaction equipment. “And we look for 2012 to be the same.”
At OverBuilt, Inc., a maker of car crushers and baler-loggers in Huron, South Dakota, sales manager Jeff Hebbert said 2011 continued a trend from 2010 of modest recovery from the lows of 2009. “Predicting how long that’s going to last is like predicting the stock market,” Hebbert said. “But all indications are that the people in the recycling industry are very optimistic about 2012.”
This year, the BBB will honor the business again at its Gala on April 14 and the AAA, which has rated him since 1997, has given him a 97% evaluation score. As busy as he has been with his expanding business, Galhotra is a devout Sikh who is deeply
JOHN NIELSEN, AAA NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF AUTO REPAIR, BUYING & CONSUMER INFORMATION: That's the greatest cost, something that you can really shop for cars that have low depreciation and save yourself considerably. CAIFA: Cost of insurance dropped on and more »
