Responding to what they view as "high tension" between collisionrepairers and insurers, the Washington Metropolitan Auto BodyAssociation (WMABA) recently held a roundtable discussion withinsurers in an attempt to clear the air about problems perceived onboth sides of the industry.Easier said than done. Although threemajor insurers signed on and were confirmed for the event -- StateFarm, GEICO, and Nationwide -- only State Farm appeared andanswered some of the tough questions posed by the association'smembership, illustrating one of the biggest problems betweenrepairers and insurers: communication. These questions, which weresent out to the three insurers in advance of the roundtable,addressed major issues such as labor rates, operations andprocedures, claim practices, and direct repair programs. Many ofthe questions were very candid, perhaps giving insurers the feelingthat they were about to step before a firing squad."We didn't seethe point in asking questions that everyone knows the answers to,"said Torchy Chandler, WMABA president and collision shop owner, ina statement. "That's the reason we used the questions ourmembership sent -- to get answers for those who have the problemsin their [collision] business every day. If [we] have insurers inthe room with us, why not have real conversations with them thatmay yield a better understanding in the future?"When answering thequestions, State Farm offered some advice to repairers andexplained some of the reasons why the company does business in themanner it does."If the majority of the collision repairers in themarket are doing 'x,' then State Farm will do it or pay it," saidGeorge Avery, State Farm consultant, in a statement. "But, in orderto protect our policyholders, we must wait for the majority of themarket to change before we can act in accordance."Avery alsooffered specific tips to repairers that work with State Farm,suggesting that they continually update their rates and currentinformation regularly at the company's business-to-business website ( www.b2b.statefarm.com ), regardless of whether or not theyare involved in State Farm's Select Service program. He alsoassured attendees that if a repairer changed their rates, it wouldnot mean that they would automatically be removed from thecompany's program.While the roundtable spurred discussion, it'sclear that not all of the issues were resolved between insurers andrepairers. In an attempt to keep the lines of communication open,the WMABA intends to meet with several insurance commissioners toget answers to collision repairers' questions. "We owe it to ourmembership to get answers," said Jordan Hendler, executive directorof WMABA, in a release. "[Our members] asked the questions, and itis our responsibility to make sure that something is done to tryand alleviate their concerns. Our attempt is aimed not to createconflict, but to initiate resolution in a positive manner."TheWMABA is a regional collision industry association, currentlycovering the areas of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Moreinformation is available at www.wmaba.com .

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