Collision Coffee Talk

Overall a pretty peaceful week for us, but more jobs slashed around the industry even in associations.  So we're asking, what do you want to see change? What are you upset about?  Fire off your issues!  Ohh yeah, Aftermarket Parts continue to cause more problems and it's putting consumers lives in danger.  Shelter Insurance is re-forming total loss units to bring bodyshops under control. Yeah, you...

While it was a very... very slow week in the collision repair news world it was at least a strange one!  Bodyshop liablity and Fentanyl claims  New Jersey sents RTA bill to the floor  Speeding by Make and Model??  Cargo ship carrying EV and Hybrids catches fire south of Alaska  Mazda Recall is reminder to Estimators to check every time. 

As a news week it was slow, but that does not mean there isn’t a lot to talk about. Kristen dives in on some things that have been bothering her and the industry lately.  CCC and Carfax Saga Continues CCC and BMW Make Announcement  Dangers Of An LLC  Drive By Inspection Liability  Direct Repair As a Weapon

It was a week of double takes.  DRP shops complaining about DRP programs and CAPA complaining that they some people were making knock off copies of their certification. You really just can not make up that amount of comic irony.  In other news;  The former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Progressive dies in a Tesla crash  Tesla seems to want to review shop estimates before the custome can see the...

Episode 35 is packed with anger and irony!  What is happening with the Senate hearings questioning State Farm and Allstate? Why shops should NOT be sharing the video or making any comments.  Why are adjusters so hard to deal with these days?  Gerber has a hiring freeze and big plans  Insurers continue to file lawsuits against bodyshops  Tesla is really terrible at insurance claims  Wisconsin relea...

Take a week off and there is so much to catch up on!  More MSOs Cancel Leases  asTech Spiral Continues  Teardown and Storage Laws Why Insurers Say No   OE Credibility  OE Liability  OE Defense  What’s On The Shelf : PPG Pete The Painter 

It’s no secret that Kristen has a temper, but she has never been this mad with an insurer before. Stick around for all of this episode. Shops Removed From DRP Programs  OE (Tesla) Removing Shops For Insurers  Report Calls For More OE Shops??  asTech Continues Problems  Progressive Supervisor In BIG Trouble!  Progress On RTA Bills  P&M Inflation Continues 

You’re going to be shocked but we’ve got another State Farm Problem! 

It's a double dose of State Farm Drama this morning as we discuss their recent and sweeping labor rate regression along with some cases of MSO's being assigned claims AFTER customer selects independent bodyshop.  Add to that a bodyshop executive is rumored to have been fired over Post Repair Inspections and the California Insurance Commisioner is eating and drinking his way around the world. 

The water is not the only thing rising around the collision repair industry this week.  The Collision Collective is firing up.  What's the real problem with SCRS Blend Study  State Farm Takes New Low In Total Loss Handling  Should Paint Companies Be Involved in Certified Collision  California Keeps Attacking Shops  Glass Association Files Anti-Trust Complaint Against Safelite 

Isn't always the way it goes. You take a few days off for Spring Break and the whole industry seems to implode!  Kristen came back to an inbox full of emergencies and problems. Some of them will make you think it's April 1st not March 21st.  In this episode:  Who owns a bad calibration?  Collision Collective  Women in Collision  Stolen Total Loss by Insurer  State Farm Files Replevin Suit  Solera...

This week:  - Honda Cited For Privacy Violations Could Impact Certified Collision Programs  - The Old Guys in Sports Coats Have Had Their Day, Don't Fit In Move Your Career and Business In A New Direction  - Gerber Lays Out Financial Troubles That Really Are The Whole Industry  - MSOs Are Sending Out Notice Of Non-Renewals On Lease Agreements  - Do We Really Need More Techs?  - Insurers Forget Pas...

Good Morning! Farmers Adjusters Beg State DOI to help them  ADAS Legal Issues Present new Problems  State Farm and the Tinder Box Date Missing Total Loss Vehicles  Safelite Settles $31 Million Fraud Case  USAA Hit with $114 Million bad Faith Verdict  California Shop caught in bait trap by the BAR  Arkansas Attorney General sues Allstate  Will Tariffs Affect Collision Repair? 

It might not be steering and it might not be Tortious Interference, but too many adjusters are engaged in practicing law without a license, lets talk about it.  Also:  - Paint Labor hours going in the wrong direction  - Oklahoma Looking To Pass Bill to Stop bad rebuilds  - STOP looking for easy buttons. It may cost you more than you can imagine. 

It is better to thought an idiot then to type and prove it!  In this episode we cover the claims and public posting by Liberty Mutual Safeco and Allstate Adjusters.  - State Farm AA rating changed to Negative and placed on credit watch!  - Bodyshops and their Bills continue to march through legislation  - Are bodyshops charging too much for 'teardown'? - Are you talking to a human or AI when scann...

The saga around asTech and their agreement with GEICO took a shocking turn on Monday February 24, 2025. In an email sent to Repairer Driven News (RDN), asTech Senior Vice President of Marketing Kennedy Taylor stated information shared in a video by Mike Reynolds, Mobile Automotive Services Solution President in December of 2024 around a radio interview that also featured Chris Chesney, Repairify V...

I was a slower than normal week in the news, but the things that popped up deserve some discussion.  - Arkansas passes law that leinholders must be on all payments even rental  - State Farm moves to eliminate OE glass from use  - BOI is back on for shop owners  - What is a Constructive Total Loss? Can an insurer total a car regardless of how much the repairs cost?

It’s Monday February 17, 2025 and we’ve got another content jammed edition of Collision Coffee Talk. The only NON-Sponsored podcast in the industry. This week we cover: - New insurance companies that face insolvency and liquidation. - Allstate DEMANDS blog site Futurism remove article or make extensive “corrections” via change request format similar to auto repair estimates. - asTech parent compan...

Last week was an hurried episode due to class, but now she has all the time and a lot of people…. We mean things to talk about.  - Why industry meetings miss the point of the math problem  - Liberty Mutual employee post generates lots of questions for potential lawsuits - Why Kristen picks on DRP shops  - What’s happening the next few months with training

- Insurers using comparative negligence in attempt to reduce total loss fees. State Associations pushing bills that may have tough consequences for shops.  - CCC hosting webinar training for insurers that shops should listen in and learn.

- Repairfy (asTech) and Kinderhook lawsuit allegations and documents. - Ford BlueCruise Under NHTSA Investigation AM Headlamps May Be Future Issue - US Treasury Department releases study on Auto Insurance - Bargain Deals For Material On Facebook Could Be Deadly - Insurers Total Cars With Little To No Damage Click here to download Court filing: https://bit.ly/4hmZs2n Click here to download Federal...

In this episode we cover another company sinks under the leadership of Tony Aquila (formally Solera).  - Honda wins ADAS lawsuit out of New Jersey  - Car theft is on the rise. Find out what cities and states and how it affects Bodyshop liability  - State Farm hired atty gives shop a compliment and agrees they should be paid. 

Nope it's not a comic book addition of Bizarro World. But you're going to want to listen to this one.

First Coffee Talk with Kristen in 2025 and we've got a lot to cover.  Insurers Continue To Consolidate  CCC Wants To Help Insurers Reduce Expenses, Asking Shops to Pay Them More  AsTech Serves as Warning To All As Lawsuits and Public Awareness Increase Around ADAS  Critical Thinking Around Policy Limits  Automotive IA Claims School Benefits

First, we're skipping next week so Kristen went longer than normal. Some year end thoughts on what's happening in the industry and who needs to exit immediately. We also include a list of companies we believe have earned your business in the things they have done to help collision repairers and the things they have refused to do when, even when offered great money.