Florida glass bill passes Senate amid monopoly concerns

A Florida bill has handed the Senate that goals to stop motorists from assigning their insurance coverage advantages to glass restore stores. However, one lobbyist fears that it will result in the dying of impartial companies if the bill passes the House.

Senate Bill 1002 would restrict stores or their workers from “offering anything of value to a customer in exchange for making an insurance claim for motor vehicle glass replacement or repair.” This apply is referred to as task of advantages (AOB). 

Florida Independent Glass Association lobbyist Jeff Johnston stated that if the proposed law is handed, small stores could be at an incredible drawback. 

He added that they’re already suffering to stay aggressive with Safelite, which is among the greatest suppliers of car glass restore and substitute in the USA.

“I would say they were teetering on the verge of a monopoly,” Johnston instructed Repairer Driven News. “If this bill passes, the legislature just created the largest monopoly in Florida, without a doubt, because the independents will not be able to compete. They will not be able to get paid, they will get paid whatever Safelite decides to pay them.”

When consumers assign their insurance coverage advantages to stores, the ones companies can sue insurers to safe honest protection on their behalf. While some critics have accused sure companies of making the most of AOBs, supporters argue that it supplies a method for companies to compete on the market and make sure honest reimbursement.

If the bill passes, small stores would lose certainly one of their few avenues of recourse in opposition to insurers when they’re underpaid, consistent with Johnston.

“This bill feels like it has been drafted by Safelite to really just get rid of their competition,” Johnston added, clarifying that he’s now not suggesting stores will have to sue insurers for trivial causes. 

Instead, he believes lawmakers will have to introduce law that units an even worth for out-of-network restore stores, so that they wouldn’t have to head via criminal complaints to obtain ok reimbursement.

Sen. Linda Stewart (D-District 13), who offered SB 1002, stated throughout a prior House committee assembly that the bill used to be supposed to prevent stores from submitting complaints that don’t have any advantage.

“This bill will modernize our laws to include new technologies and make sure the calibration of these new systems are covered in replacements and will finally put an end to the frivolous lawsuits perpetrated by a few bad actors,” Stewart instructed the committee. “By passing this bill through committee today, we will be taking an important first step to address one of the reasons we continue to see premiums increase in auto policies.”

The National Insurance Crime Bureau Government Affairs Director, Eric De Campos, stated that Florida’s present legislation allows glass stores to rate for unwarranted complex driving force help machine (ADAS) recalibrations, or to rate for recalibrations however now not carry out them. The bill would advertise transparency about why ADAS calibrations and recalibration are vital whilst additionally tackling fraud and abuse within the auto glass trade, consistent with him.

“Unfortunately, Florida’s relatively unique among other states in that current law creates a friendly environment for auto glass replacement fraud and abuse,” De Campos stated. “And that’s via provisions like task of advantages and permitting glass stores so to supply monetary inducements to shoppers. These provisions have created an imbalance in auto glass insurance coverage claims, which has ended in a 4,000%