News Releases:

 

 

Maryland Salvage Bill Awaits Governor’s Signature

 


April 13, 2010 – Richmond, Virginia – Fifteen months following the marketplace enactment of the 75% salvage threshold – SB 568, the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) has successfully moved a bill correcting many of the marketplace issues through both the House and the Senate during the recent 2010 legislative session. This bill (HB 1199), which adds an exclusion to the threshold for “cosmetic damage” and “the cost of towing, storage or vehicle rental”, was successfully passed with majority support by stakeholders, as well as legislators.

The bill also includes an amendment to current law which [salvage] brands ALL vehicles that are total-lossed by an insurer. This protects the secondary vehicle owner from unknowingly purchasing a previously totaled vehicle, as well as removing the incentive to prematurely total-loss a vehicle because of higher salvage value. The last portion of the bill gives the insurer the reserved right to make a decision to total-loss the vehicle for economic reasons, which is in line with current policy language.

This bill, having successfully passed through the House and Senate, is now on the desk of Governor O’Malley awaiting his signature. Once signed, the WMABA and other stakeholders will work with the Maryland MVA and State Police to define “Cosmetic” as it relates to collision repair. Updates on the finality of the process will be sent as soon as they become available.

WMABA Immediate Past President and Owner of Chandler’s Collision in Columbia, Maryland, Torchy Chandler commented on the triumphant efforts of those who participated in the movement for this legislation. “We have worked through many obstacles and had many stakeholder meetings to be sure that this legislation will benefit all, but the main focus has always been the consumer and their interest to retain their vehicle and get it repaired with minimum out of pocket expense and headache,” Torchy opined. “I believe that because the consumer was our focus, we had the least amount of encumbrances for our bill, and thus a victorious outcome.”

For information regarding this bill or other legislative activities, please contact the WMABA Administration office at: (804) 789-9649

The WMABA is a regional collision industry association, currently covering the areas of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC whose mission is to serve the best interests of collision repairers through leadership, education and initiatives that strengthen the professionalism and business conditions for the professional collision repairer. If you would like to find out more information about WMABA and its activities, you can contact Executive Director Jordan Hendler (Phone: 804-789-9649 or Email: jordanhendler@wmaba.com) or visit its website at: http://www.wmaba.com

###
 

 

Senator Withdraws Bill for Salvaged Airbags in Maryland

 

February 16, 2010 – Richmond, Virginia – After repairer organizations gave strong opposition at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) a model airbag bill, although amended, was still passed for use in individual states. The bill, intended to provide a documentation process for the use of new and salvaged airbags to protect consumers from airbag fraud, had been proposed in Maryland.

On February 5th, the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) sent out an urgent notice to repairers to oppose this bill, citing many reasons that repairers and consumers could be harmed. Many repairers had taken the initiative to contact their representative if they were on the Senate Finance committee who was hearing the bill first. Though these actions were taken immediately, WMABA was unsure of the response that would be seen in the bill hearings.

On February 15th, Senate Bill 209 (Click Here to Download), proposed by Senator Delores Kelley (D-District 10, Baltimore County) was voted unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee to have the bill withdrawn without foreseeable reintroduction.

“This outcome was no doubt the result of WMABA, our lobbyist group Alexander & Cleaver and our Maryland constituents giving useful and pertinent information to the Senators, so that they could make an informed and consumer-conscientious decision,” said Brad Whiteford, WMABA President and owner of Whiteford’s Collision. “All WMABA membership should be proud of the efforts of the association to head-off such a possible disaster for repairers throughout the country, because we all know how bills like these increase the chances for other special interests to attempt this in other states.”

For information regarding this bill or other legislative activities, please contact the WMABA Administration office at: (804) 789-9649

The WMABA is a regional collision industry association, currently covering the areas of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC whose mission is to serve the best interests of collision repairers through leadership, education and initiatives that strengthen the professionalism and business conditions for the professional collision repairer. If you would like to find out more information about WMABA and its activities, you can contact Executive Director Jordan Hendler (Phone: 804-789-9649 or Email: jordanhendler@wmaba.com) or visit its website at: http://www.wmaba.com

###
 

 

WMABA Urges Repairers to Give Opposition to Bill for Salvaged Airbags in Maryland

 

February 5, 2010 – Richmond, Virginia – After repairer organizations gave strong opposition at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) a model airbag bill, although amended, was still passed for use in individual states. The bill, intended to provide a documentation process for the use of new and salvaged airbags to protect consumers from airbag fraud, is now being proposed in Maryland. The problem is that this bill will harm consumers in many other ways.

Senate Bill 209 (Click Here to Download), proposed by Senator Delores Kelley (D) is being touted as a consumer protection bill. A hearing for this bill will take place in Annapolis on Thursday, February 11th at 1pm on the 3rd floor of the Miller Senate Building. Senator Kelley is not on the NCOIL committee, nor was a part of the discussions surrounding this model bill.

Every repairer in Maryland should oppose this bill because it opens the door for processes to have insurers use salvage airbags. WMABA states that there is no viable data for the safety of the airbag usage for our customers and their families because we have no way of knowing the integrity of the vehicle it was removed from, the way it was stored, or the removal and subsequent delivery process. Additionally, there are no vehicle manufacturers who endorse the use of salvaged airbags, and some go as far as to state that they could cause injury or death. Therefore, repairers have no way of guaranteeing the crashworthiness of the salvaged airbag and open themselves up for liability.

“Salvaged airbags can come from any vehicle, but they are most likely to be removed from a vehicle that has been already total lossed by an insurance company for any reason from collision or fire to flood,” said Brad Whiteford of Whiteford’s Collision and WMABA President. “As a repairer, we cannot accept the liability of the salvaged airbag not performing to OEM specifications in a subsequent crash.”

“This bill was opposed by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) during the NCOIL hearings because they feel that this language will open the state regulation for giving a process to use salvaged airbags,” stated Jordan Hendler, Executive Director for WMABA. “The collision repair industry does not use these airbags, and if this language is accepted it will give incentive for their use by insurers. At minimum, the consumer who chooses not to use them for safety concerns could then have additional out-of-pocket expenses for using a new OEM airbag instead of the salvage, where currently they do not. The possible unintended consequences of this bill for Maryland shops and consumers are horrendous.”

For information regarding this bill, to contact your Senator to attend the hearing in Annapolis, please contact the WMABA Administration office at: (804) 789-9649

The WMABA is a regional collision industry association, currently covering the areas of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC whose mission is to serve the best interests of collision repairers through leadership, education and initiatives that strengthen the professionalism and business conditions for the professional collision repairer. If you would like to find out more information about WMABA and its activities, you can contact Executive Director Jordan Hendler (Phone: 804-789-9649 or Email: jordanhendler@wmaba.com) or visit its website at: http://www.wmaba.com

###

 

WMABA Elects New Board of Directors

 

December 3, 2009 – Richmond, Virginia – During a recent membership meeting, the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) membership recently elected the 2010 Board of Directors who will continue the association’s initiatives into the new year.

 

The Board of Directors welcomes back incumbent members Brad Whiteford as President, Barry Dorn as the Vice President, John Krauss for Treasurer, Don Beaver as the Secretary and returning Directors Aaron Schulenburg, Kris Burton and Laura Gay. Torchy Chandler will continue on as the Immediate Past President and the following individuals were elected as new incoming Directors: Rodney Bolton, Geoff Brown, Ben Gibson, Dan Morrissey, and Bobby Wright.

 

After giving an endearing outgoing message after four years of leadership to the members at the election meeting, Immediate Past President Torchy Chandler welcomed the opportunity to have fresh perspective from a new President. She commented saying, “My four years as President was during a changing time for WMABA, with many transitions for the better. I think that the future of the association is in the hands of the Directors and members, who show knowledge and leadership skills that will grow the association in new directions for the years to come.”

 

Incoming President Brad Whiteford commented, “I’d first like to thank the Board for this opportunity to lead the group as the new President. I am looking forward to a great year with such a good diversity amongst the Board members. My personal goal for the upcoming year is to get further growth and expansion into the market areas outside of the Northern VA market, as well as watching the legislative activities of our region. I look forward to working with everyone.”

 

Two of the new Board members are educators – Rodney Bolton of Center of Applied Technologies North (MD) and Geoff Brown of Northern Virginia Community College (VA) – and one Board member is a longtime industry member and consultant – Dan Morrissey. In addition, two repairers from the Richmond area – Ben Gibson of Harrison Body Works and Bobby Wright of Burkeville Body Shop – will not only be participating on the Board but will also be assisting with the growth of the new WMABA Richmond Chapter.

 

WMABA is excited to usher in the 2010 Board of Directors when the industry needs strong and vibrant leadership during these tough economic times. They look forward to gearing up for a successful upcoming year.

 

(Photo: Left to Right - Ben Gibson, Bobby Wright, John Krauss, Barry Dorn, Rodney Bolton, Brad Whiteford, Torchy Chandler, Laura Gay, Geoff Brown, Kris Burton)

 

The WMABA is a regional collision industry association, currently covering the areas of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC whose mission is to serve the best interests of collision repairers through leadership, education and initiatives that strengthen the professionalism and business conditions for the professional collision repairer. If you would like to find out more information about WMABA and its activities, you can contact Executive Director Jordan Hendler (Phone: 804-789-9649 or Email: jordanhendler@wmaba.com) or visit its website at: http://www.wmaba.com

 

###

 

 

WMABA Announces New Richmond Chapter

 

October 29, 2009 – Richmond, Virginia – The Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) is proud to announce its first chapter with the creation of the Richmond Chapter. The development of the chapter came through the discussions held at the Meet-N-Greet meetings WMABA has been holding in the area during recent months to gain further participation and interest by the local repairers.

The unanimous vote, taken by all the repairer participants at the September 23rd meeting at Bruce’s Super Body Shop in Richmond, shows how much they wanted this chapter to happen. The association knows that the key to having strength in moving forward is growing the number of repairers that attend and get involved.

“Richmond has needed community amongst the shops for quite some time,” remarked Ben Gibson, owner of Harrison Body Works in Richmond. “WMABA brings a great amount of credibility to the Northern Virginia market, and now we’ll have it in Richmond and should be able to make great strides with their help. We hope all of the Richmond shops will rally around the causes of the industry through this effort, so we can make a real difference.”

The new chapter will be having a meeting on November 10th at 6:00pm at Dominion Auto Group in Richmond, VA to discuss their governing structure and what initiatives they would like to address during future meetings.

“We had many current members of the association asking us to bring more awareness and education to the shops here,” commented WMABA executive director Jordan Hendler. “WMABA is excited that the recent addition of the Richmond Chapter will spur other areas to get together with the same purpose in mind, such as in the Norfolk/Hampton or Baltimore areas. This grows the membership base as well as strengthens the relationships that repairers have amongst each other in that region. Where there is strength in numbers, there is unity on some of the major issues that they face daily.”

If you have interest in attending the upcoming chapter meeting, go to http://www.wmaba.com  and view the meeting information on the Calendar page or call the WMABA office at (804) 789-9649.

The WMABA is a regional collision industry association, currently covering the areas of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC whose mission is to serve the best interests of collision repairers through leadership, education and initiatives that strengthen the professionalism and business conditions for the professional collision repairer. If you would like to find out more information about WMABA and its activities, you can contact Executive Director Jordan Hendler (Phone: 804-789-9649 or Email: jordanhendler@wmaba.com ) or visit its website at: http://www.wmaba.com

###