The new rules prohibit insurers from making untruthful, deceptive, or misleading statements to consumers that unreasonably influence a consumer’s right to select the repair facility. These new regulations complement existing state consumer protection laws that prohibit insurance companies from requiring that repairs be done in an insurance company-chosen shop and guarantee that consumers have the absolute right to select where they have their vehicles repaired. The new rules also provide guidelines for reasonable timeframes for insurers to inspect damaged vehicles and identify what constitutes unreasonable distances in cases where an insurer requires the consumer to travel to obtain a repair estimate or have a vehicle repaired.

“Consumers who suffer from collision damage should not be misled by insurance companies or forced to wait weeks for an inspection in order to steer them away from their chosen shop and into insurer-contracted repair shops just so the insurance company can save money at the expense of proper and safe repairs,” said Commissioner Jones.

These new regulations follow the recently approved Auto Collision Repair Labor Rate Survey regulations, which set forth standards for insurers, which, if followed, will ensure that auto body repair labor rate surveys are accurate and reliable so that insurers pay the reasonable and proper amount and consumers are therefore not paying out-of-pocket for collision repairs.

The Office of Administrative Law (OAL), which independently reviews all new regulations, approved the Commissioner’s regulation yesterday. The regulation goes into effect by operation of law on January 1, 2017. However, these newly adopted regulations are part of the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations, which contain a delayed compliance date in order to give insurers additional time to comply. The compliance date for the Anti-Steering in Auto Body Repair regulations is March 12, 2017.

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Here are some things you can do to improve & prolong your vehicles appearance & luster:

1)     Clean and wash your car at least once a month: clean and wash the exterior panels, wheels and wax your car. Waxing your car helps protect your paint from harsh weather conditions and acidic rain. Cleaning your wheels of brake dust and road debris will make your car looking new. (Ladies here’ your chance to cash in your Honey-Do Points!)

2)    Remove any bird droppings or tree sap that fall onto your car paint. Dropping and tree saps are acidic and can eat into your paint finish causing permanent blemishes on your paint.    You can use denatured or rubbing alcohol, or specially formulated products such as Goof Off or similar citrus/light solvent cleaners-immediately followed by a coat of wax.

3)    Waxing your headlight lenses will prolong your lamp lenses from fading

4)    Got Chrome? Chrome wheels, bumpers and trims can be difficult to clean and polish, you can use #000 or #0000 wool pad to clean and shine your chrome wheels, trims and bumpers with ease. You will be surprised with the results and steel wool works great for cleaning glass surfaces of stubborn debris baked on.

5)    Touch up/ Brush touch up any paint chips/dents/scratches that exposes bare metal. It may not look like it was before it got damaged but it will prevent the panel from rusting and/or peeling. Touch up paints are available through your local car dealerships and auto parts stores.

6)    Condition any black rubber trimming outside of your car with a small towel and rubber conditioner

7)    Vacuum your interior carpet and floor mats weekly. Keeping your carpet fibers free from sand and dirt debris will keep the carpet looking good for a long time. You also want to make sure that you clean any stains quickly and a carpet cleaner is one of the best products to use.

8)    For leather interior it is best that you clean and condition them at least once a week to prevent them from cracking and looking old. It may not seem like a big difference each time you apply it, in the long run, you will see the difference. Use upholstery cleaner for cloth seats and apply stain guards for added stain protection.

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Think of your auto insurance policy as six separate policies. Some types of coverage are required by state law, depending on where you live. Others are optional. Consider each one and ask yourself how much you need. Each type of coverage has its own premium. Add them up and you’ve got the price of your auto insurance policy. Subtract the ones you may not need and you gain some control over the cost.

Bodily injury liability (BI) coverage covers you if you cause an accident in which someone else is hurt or killed. State laws differ as to how much you are required to carry. Many financial experts recommend carrying at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurance – commonly expressed as “100/300.” Consider what assets you have to protect and what you can afford when deciding how much to purchase.

Property damage liability (PD) coverage covers you when you damage someone else’s property. Usually it’s someone else’s car, but it could apply to buildings, utility poles, garage doors, and other physical property. State laws determine the minimum you must purchase.

Collision coverage covers damage to your car if you run into another car, a brick wall, a fire hydrant, or other object. This coverage is not required by law, though your bank may require it if you have an auto loan. You may choose a deductible on this coverage—what you must first pay out-of-pocket for a claim before the insurance kicks in.

Comprehensive coverage covers you in case your car is stolen or damaged in ways that don’t involve a collision. Covered risks include hail, fire, theft, flood, earthquake, explosion, falling objects, and encounters with wildlife, such as deer. Comprehensive is optional coverage, though your bank may require it if you have an auto loan. You may choose a deductible on this coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage covers medical and other expenses when you are hit by a driver without adequate auto insurance. Whether this coverage is mandatory or optional depends on your state laws. You can purchase additional coverage to pay for damage to your car if hit by an uninsured motorist, but many people instead just purchase collision and comprehensive.

Medical payments coverage (Med Pay, or MPC) acts as primary coverage for medical expenses you and your passengers incur if injured in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of fault. States have different laws regarding this coverage.

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