Allstate: Our Poll Has Political Aim

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, Aug. 13, 3:58 p.m. EST?Allstate Insurance Company confirmed today that there was a political motive behind its release of a survey showing that Californians believe auto body shops are often dishonest.

Bob Daniels, a representative for the company, said the poll's findings were put out yesterday as part of an effort to defeat passage of a bill supported by collision repairers that would bar insurers from owning auto body repair shops.

A collision industry representative said the action was "a power play."

"We feel California consumers are going to be denied a better choice if this bill is sent on to the governor," said Allstate's Mr. Daniels.

Allstate last year purchased Sterling Autobody Repair Centers through a subsidiary. The group has 40 shops in seven states and would like to expand into California, where it has now has none.

Mr. Daniels said the company would like to start operations at between 17 and 20 locations in California, and "we anticipate when we do that it will mean a $100 million investment in the state."

But even if all 20 shops opened, it would equal only "one half of 1 percent of the body shops in California," which is "far from cornering the market," Mr. Daniels commented.

"We want to bring in a better service, a better choice for the customer," he added. "The consumer has a right to take the car wherever they want, but we think when they are given a better option, they are going there."

According to the poll conducted by COMsciences, Inc. on Allstate's behalf, 85 percent of those contacted believe that cheating is a major reason repair costs are high in the state, while 74 percent feel they are often cheated by repair shops doing poor work or charging for work that was never even done.

The company said that 90 percent of 1,000 who were polled felt consumers should have more choices of shops, including those owned or associated with insurers. Allstate said the poll found 87 percent believe insurance company owned repair shops, now available in other states, should be available in California.

Sixty percent of those polled oppose legislation preventing insurance company body shop ownership, according to Allstate.

Mark J. Claypool, executive director of the National Auto Body Council in St. Charles, Ill., said the negative public stereotype of body shops was undeserved, and is the result of a few disreputable operations that create disgruntled customers who are "a vocal minority."

He said body shop owners are supporting Senate Bill 1648 because they see a conflict when insurers do repairs. Insurers, he said, might exert "undue pressure on policyholders" to use the carrier's repair unit.

Mr. Claypool said that in his personal opinion, the poll is "a power play to make quality repairs an issue."

"You don't hear about the good shops," he said, adding that people don't tell their neighbors when they have a satisfactory repair.

According to Collision Repair Industry Insight Magazine, insurers annually pay $24.6 billion in collision claims out of $28.3 billion in repair bills. Nationwide, there are some 53,000 collision repair facilities, with the majority doing less than $500,000 in yearly business.

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Allstate: Our Poll Has Political Aim

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