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Video: Pennsylvania Senator on Steering

Chris Medine • Jun 22, 2015

The practice of steering by insurance companies to preferred repair shops is being brought to light more and more each day. Steering is illegal, but is still practiced regularly. While there are laws on the books in most states, the only way to enforce those laws is for consumers to learn when they are being steered.


We have seen news stories exposing the tactics that insurance companies employ to direct business to their preferred shops, and we have seen the issue arise in Louisiana’s State Capitol. Recently, the issue came up in Pennsylvania’s Capitol as Pennsylvania State Senator John Rafferty gives a first-hand account of steering tactics.


Senator Rafferty talks about his constituents telling him stories he described as disturbing, where insurance companies were “aggressively turning” them to preferred shops. Then he says he got a first-hand glimpse of the situation when he hit a deer and called his insurance company. Rafferty says the insurance company suggested where he should take his vehicle. He responded by telling them where he wanted to take his vehicle, that he trusted the shop he has used in the past. Rafferty said the insurance company turned up the pressure to get him going where they wanted him to go. He finally put his foot down saying, “I’m the premium payer. I want to go to this auto body shop.”


Video: Pennsylvania Senator on Steering

While Rafferty was ultimately successful in going to the shop he wanted to go to, he fears others may not know they can take that kind of stand to what he calls “strong arm” tactics.


The Senator is right in knowing his rights, both in his state of Pennsylvania, or here in Louisiana. In Pennsylvania, the law states, “there is no requirement to use a specified repair shop.” It goes on to say, “If the consumer receives information from the insurer, the information shall include disclosure that there is no requirement to use a specified repair shop.”



Similarly, the law in Louisiana states that “no insurer shall require that as a condition to a payment, repairs be made to a motor vehicle, including window glass repairs or replacement, in a particular place or shop or by a particular entity.”


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