ABP Club Car Body Repair News - September 2011

Below is a news headline summary. The full bodyshop news stories appear on the ABP Club members' forum.

30/9/11 - 22:25		'Crash for cash' fraudsters told to pay back what's left of £1m they made in insurance scams (but there's only £79,000 left)

30/9/11 - 17:54		RAC - Aviva confirn sale to Carlyle Group was completed today

30/9/11 - 17:42		Elite launches 'Express 24 repair solution'

30/9/11 - 17:22		The rise of Social Media and the impact on the employment relationship

30/9/11 - 17:13		Alphabet - confirm purchase of ING Car Lease has been completed and new merged company will operate under the name Alphabet

30/9/11 - 15:12		IBIS - returns to Barcelona from 21 to 23 May 2012

30/9/11 - 14:56		Ireland - Irish insurers renew contracts with Glassmatix

30/9/11 - 14:49		Equip Auto 2011 - begins on Tuesday week (Oct 11) in Paris

30/9/11 - 14:27		BEN - new initiative from the National Clearance Centre (part of Foray Motor Group)

30/9/11 - 14:24		Auto Industry Insider (Ben Cardy and Andrew Marsh) - extend early bird subscription offer to 31 October

30/9/11 - 14:22		OFT - opens consultation on ammendment to commitments about pricing data exchange given by 7 motor insurers in January

30/9/11 - 14:16		Just Car Clinics - shares crash by 45% on todays news of delisting

30/9/11 - 11:47		Auto Windscreens ranked 2nd in Top 50 Call Centres for customer service

30/9/11 - 11:39		Most annoying driving habits - tailgating tops the list

30/9/11 - 11:29		ABP Club Social Golf Day - team Farécla triumph!

30/9/11 - 11:23		Standox - Offers free Standothek guides

30/9/11 - 08:35		ADR's Cannock site appointed by BMW

30/9/11 - 07:37		Just Car Clinics - results for first half; turnover down 15%, pre-tax profits down 74%, emphasis on repair (not replace), good retail growth

30/9/11 - 07:20		Just Car Clinics - to withdraw from being a public quoted company on the stock market and return to being an unquoted company

30/9/11 - 01:18		Government - to consult on plans to raise motorway speed limit to 80mph, but with big expansion in 20mph zones in cities

29/9/11 - 11:55		Mazda - training academy helps approved bodyshop network to gain QAA awards

29/9/11 - 11:46		Accident statistics - road casualties fell by 6% last year and 40% fall since 1996

29/9/11 - 11:17		Autorestore - results for year to 31 Dec 2010; turnover down very slightly to £ 13.414m, pre-tax loss of £ 1.254m

29/9/11 - 10:16		LV - recruiting more than 150 staff; majority to handle car insurance claims

29/9/11 - 09:36		Allianz - to sell its Your Cover motor insurance through comparethemarket.com

29/9/11 - 08:09		Helphire Group - appoint Avril Palmer- Baunack as non-executive chairman

29/9/11 - 08:05		Helphire Group - results for year to 30 June 2011 show pre-tax loss of £34m on turnover down 18% to £235m

29/9/11 - 00:11		Avant Consult appoints a new Operations Director

28/9/11 - 19:14		CrashMap.co.uk - launched this week, allowing public access to over 1m road traffic crash records

28/9/11 - 11:01		Credit Hire - Five cases to be heard in the Court of Appeal in October

27/9/11 - 23:47		Carcraft in Warwick - sart repairer moves to new fixed-site premises

27/9/11 - 23:44		USA - Audatex introduce a web based repair tracking product

27/9/11 - 23:44		"Look what we found at back of car repair shop – a drug farm" - story from Teeside Mercury

27/9/11 - 23:40		R-M - PERFECTFILLER black, white and grey revolutionalises the SHADE’ART programme

27/9/11 - 23:34		SC Body & Paint Skills joins the Motor Industry Skills Consortium

27/9/11 - 23:17		Third time lucky for James Alpe as they scoop Large Bodyshop of the Year award

27/9/11 - 14:21		Electric vehicles - lack of common recharging standard across Europe is delaying success

27/9/11 - 09:56		AM Best - UK insurers will need to increase non-life premiums again

27/9/11 - 07:24		AI Claims Solutions - results for year to June 2011: turnover up 28% to £117m; pre-tax profits up 42%; profit margin of 3.2%

26/9/11 - 15:22		Electric vehicles - sales fail to take off with just 5,222 sold in whole of Europe in first half of year

26/9/11 - 14:27		Referral fees - ban does not mean complete loss of revenue from legal work for insurers

26/9/11 - 14:27		Referral fees - full text of Jack Straws 10 minute bill hearing in House of Commons on 13 September

26/9/11 - 11:41		Glass’s - Is this the calm before the storm for the used car market?

26/9/11 - 08:41		Nationwide - results for first half; total turnover up 6%, retail sales up 72%, fleet sales up 28%

25/9/11 - 23:06		Labour to announce a Consumer protection rights overhaul

23/9/11 - 23:05		Bodyshop magazine awards - full list of all 15 winners and finalists

23/9/11 - 11:03		DuPont Refinish updates Lifetime Warranty to increase bodyshop benefits

23/9/11 - 11:01		Car insurance prices predicted to be 17% higher for 2011

23/9/11 - 10:36		Audatex launches Vehicle Health Check

22/9/11 - 16:10		RSA - UK chief exec, Adrian Brown, contacting other insurers to resolve the subrogation issue

22/9/11 - 15:58		RSA - seven insurers working together on possible joint class action against RSA's "inflated repair costs"

22/9/11 - 15:43		Bodyshop Alliance: The Cheese has moved - 1Day Repair

22/9/11 - 14:24		Selsia - move into fleet market

22/9/11 - 14:19		Ford - new Door Edge Protector standard on Focus from January 2012

22/9/11 - 11:47		Crash-for-cash - team of 6 who made £2m from 120 fraudulent claims were convicted yesterday in Southwark court

22/9/11 - 10:32		Referral fees - ban will make it a criminal offence to to pay or receive referral fees

22/9/11 - 09:09		Lloyd's - UK motor market results show big improvement in first half of 2011

22/9/11 - 08:39		Accident Exchange - every year in the UK £437 million of vehicle damage is caused by lane change movements

22/9/11 - 08:29		Hoopers launch new Motorcycle Network and specialist inspections service

22/9/11 - 07:53		Cabinet secretary urged to probe Djanogly charges

21/9/11 - 23:08		ABP Club 2011 UK Body Repair Industry Guides now available on-line

21/9/11 - 21:53		Saab - lives for another day as court gives them breathing space by allowing them protection from bankruptcy

21/9/11 - 21:44		EC - Justice Commissioner meets with insurance industry chiefs to discuss 4 key issues including sex discrimination in insurance premiums

21/9/11 - 20:38		Issue 3 of new Auto Body Professional magazine now available on-line

21/9/11 - 20:28		RSA plaaning to go to High Court next year to defend policy of using subsidiary for motor repairs, reports Post magazine.

21/9/11 - 14:34		Glass's - Dave Murby appointed interim Director Bodyshop and Insurance sector, replacing John Elsdon

21/9/11 - 13:14		PAS125 - Steve Wright leaving BSI on 31 October

21/9/11 - 10:15		ABP Club National Meetings, Scotland and Northern Ireland - thank you!

21/9/11 - 09:37		Towers Watson report points towards light at end of tunnel for UK motor insurers

21/9/11 - 08:30		RBS Insurance - recruit RSA's former group legal director to help prepare company for sale in second half of 2012

21/9/11 - 03:36		Pot-holes - over 22,000 drivers successfully claimed from Councils for damage caused to their cars by badly maintained roads

21/9/11 - 03:27		The 2011 'ABP Power List' - the 30 most powerful and influential people in our industry

21/9/11 - 02:51		Auto Body Professional - issue 3 of our new quarterly industry magazine should be arriving through your letterbox by today (Wednesday)

21/9/11 - 02:14		Zenith fleet management - complete multi-million pound securitisation deal with bank; interview with ceo Tim Buchan

21/9/11 - 01:57		IAAF - using "independent parts" could save police forces 40% of their spend on vehicle parts

21/9/11 - 01:48		Crash-for-Cash - Rezwan & Rehan Javed from Burnley who ran North West Claims Centre Ltd jailed for 5 years after netting £1m each from scam

20/9/11 - 15:09		Weather - Britain to be hit by snow in October as forecasters warn of an early winter

19/9/11 - 19:13		Porsche - opens new paint shop at Zuffenhausen factory

19/9/11 - 14:06		RSA - statement on their website following BBC Radio 4 Money Box, Saturday 17 September 2011

19/9/11 - 14:05		Daily Mail - "Judge accuses RSA Insurance of falsely inflating car repair costs to boost profits"

19/9/11 - 13:44		Tyres - 42% of drivers have "dangerously worn tyres", up from 27% two years ago

19/9/11 - 13:36		Vauxhall - 1/2 million Vivaro vans built in Luton since production began in 2001

19/9/11 - 13:35		Jaguar land Rover - confirm £355m investment in new engine factory to be built in Wolverhampton

19/9/11 - 12:21		BBC Moneybox podcast now available

19/9/11 - 09:36		ABP Club Social Golf Day - 29 September - final reminder to book your place

19/9/11 - 09:32		Glass’s - Unusually high demand for 4x4’s in anticipation of bad weather

17/9/11 - 11:05		BBC's Money Box contacts ABP Club before exposing the RSA case to the wider UK public

16/9/11 - 18:45		RSA responds to damning County Court judgement, strongly refuting it behaved inappropriately

16/9/11 - 16:12		Fix Auto Loughborough – Consistently Better!

16/9/11 - 16:05		Mansell makes pit stop at Fylde Coast Accident Repair Centre

16/9/11 - 12:07		Brightside Group, Allianz, Markerstudy and Groupama reveal referral fee income

16/9/11 - 11:44		Strategic Business Alternative could drive down the cost of motor claims

16/9/11 - 09:23		TRI celebrates 30 years in business

16/9/11 - 08:37		RMI’s National Association of Bobdyshops issues European Commission Questionnaire reminder

16/9/11 - 08:24		Nationwide's Offer attains silver at World Skills Autobody Repair competition

16/9/11 - 07:29		Crash for cash - two brothers from Burnley, who ran North West Claims Ltd, get 6 years jail for biggest ever scam which netted them £1m each

15/9/11 - 19:26		Standox image campaign wins 'red dot award'

15/9/11 - 18:50		Easi-Drive supports 'Perfect' charity

15/9/11 - 18:30		Allianz celebrates 10th anniversary of its Underwriting Academy

15/9/11 - 18:27		CAA engages Create Motion to rebrand

15/9/11 - 08:48		Transport Committee - date set for further evidence

15/9/11 - 01:31		Unipart Group - sell off Unipart Automotive to private equity firm H2

15/9/11 - 01:03		USA - New Orleans to host NACE event in 2012

14/9/11 - 17:07		Markerstudy Insurance - require brokers to report motor claims to them within an hour of being notified

14/9/11 - 14:10		RSA motor claims procedures damned in County Court judgement

14/9/11 - 13:44		Thatcham offer more discounts on training ahead of changes to ATA

14/9/11 - 13:43		3M and Howard Basford enter into direct supply arrangement

14/9/11 - 08:17		Easi-Drive promotion makes 'right connection'

14/9/11 - 08:16		Ireland - Irish Insurance Federation to recommend work is only sent to certified repairers

14/9/11 - 08:08		Jack Straw's referral fee '10-minute rule motion' video

14/9/11 - 00:28		Bosch - enhanced predictive emergency braking system to reduce low-speed rear-end shunts makes debut in new Audi A5

14/9/11 - 00:19		Volvo - reveal their future technology; includes "highest degree of high strength steels" and "extensive use of aluminium"

13/9/11 - 23:46		Nationwide - appoint Steve Crowley as business development manager in the South West

13/9/11 - 23:42		Saab- court hearing on 26 Sept as two unions serve bankruptcy applications

13/9/11 - 19:25		Average garage mechanical labour rate went up 7.5% in last 12 months to £80.44 hr; franchised dealers £95.83 hr, independents £60.68 hr

13/9/11 - 19:04		Referral fees - NAB are "pleased" about the proposed ban

13/9/11 - 18:45		Referral fees - Jack Straw's new bill passes first hurdle in Parliament; Motor Insurance Regulation Bill to be introduced in January 2012

13/9/11 - 18:32		Government - RPI inflation rate in August up again to 5.2%; CPI inflation rate also up to 4.5%

13/9/11 - 07:15		Swinton Sees Surge in Van Insurance Policies After Rise in New Vehicle Registrations

12/9/11 - 18:19		Byteback launch new BuyMyBodyshop.com website

12/9/11 - 14:38		Winn Assist expand sales team

12/9/11 - 10:21		Average car dealer made a £4,000 loss in July; YTD profits down £30,000

12/9/11 - 02:09		JCA Coatings - announce launch of Optima Glasscoat paint and fabric protection products

12/9/11 - 01:54		MIB - release new figures showing West Midlands and West Yorkshire are worst area for uninsured driving

09/9/11 - 16:48		Just Car Clinics launches new website - another step in retail strategy

09/9/11 - 15:54		BSI Kitemark (PAS125) promoted in local press

09/9/11 - 15:48		ABPA challenges Ford's claims and publishes parts tests

09/9/11 - 15:38		Jack Straw comments to I Love Claims / ABP Club in response to today's ban on referral fees

09/9/11 - 11:36		C and D Services undertakes Brands Hatch charity cycle ride

09/9/11 - 11:29		Pro-Assess renews IMI Awards/ATA Approved Centre status for a further three years

09/9/11 - 11:25		Government ban on referall fees: reaction thus far

09/9/11 - 10:46		European Commission - investigation into unfair commercial practices

09/9/11 - 09:57		Government clarifies scope of referral fee ban

09/9/11 - 09:44		Saab - in desperate attempt to stave off bankruptcy are to appeal court decision by Monday

09/9/11 - 08:43		IAEA - first female engineer (from Allianz) appointed to Council

09/9/11 - 08:21		Marmalade's intelligent way to cut motor premiums

09/9/11 - 07:21		Admiral - welcomes referral fee ban

09/9/11 - 01:55		Government to ban referral fees in personal injury claims to end the "compensation culture"

09/9/11 - 01:02		House of Commons Transport Committee – comments on Government response to their Cost of Motor Insurance report

08/9/11 - 22:36		fnol™ launches free web hosting for repairers and promises modern outsourced communications

08/9/11 - 20:13		European Commission - to make eCall (automatically rings emergency services in case of accident) mandatory in all new cars from 2015

08/9/11 - 17:49		Saab - it looks like the end as Swedish court refuses to give them protection from bankruptcy

08/9/11 - 14:00		Frank Brookes Coventry calls in the administrators

08/9/11 - 13:54		Key2Key Solutions - first repairer passes BSI audit with aid of Key2Key software

08/9/11 - 13:25		Trick-shot Robbie booked for ABP Club's golf day on 29 September - still a few places left, please book now!

08/9/11 - 13:19		Crash for cash: Gang 'faked more than 120 car accidents in £1m insurance scam'

08/9/11 - 11:34		Gtechniq - launch nationwide network of specialists to apply paint protection system

08/9/11 - 11:28		OFT cost of motor insurance enquiry - could be "quite uncomfortable" for Admiral says analyst

08/9/11 - 10:40		OFT cost of motor insurance enquiry - look at the questions they are asking insurers

08/9/11 - 10:02		ABI - welcomes OFT enquiry into the cost of motor insurance; "an opportunity to highlight increasing cost pressures faced by insurers"

08/9/11 - 09:50		OFT cost of motor insurance enquiry - their questions for credit hire companies

08/9/11 - 08:58		OFT cost of motor insurance enquiry - Q & A

08/9/11 - 08:37		OFT cost of motor insurance enquiry - they want repairers views by 12 October; full details of their specific questions and how to respond

08/9/11 - 08:17		Office of Fair Trading investigates the rising cost of car insurance premiums as they jump 40%

07/9/11 - 22:00		Apprentices - IMI welcomes Government move to cut apprenticeship red tape for employers

07/9/11 - 22:00		Apprentices - boost for employers as red tape is slashed by government

07/9/11 - 17:03		AA - 93% of drivers have never checked on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) if their car is insured

07/9/11 - 15:58		Equip Auto - takes place in Paris from 11 to 15 October

07/9/11 - 15:56		Ireland - business is also very quiet for bodyshops in Ireland, for the same reasons as in the UK

07/9/11 - 14:23		Solera (owners of Audatex) - acquires "See Progress", a US provider of vehicle repair status software called AutoWatch

07/9/11 - 13:42		Whiplash - new figures show whiplash claims up 32% in the last 3 years; last year 1,565 whiplash claims were made every day

07/9/11 - 13:30		Aviva - fall in share price makes them vulnerable to bid from Zurich

07/9/11 - 13:12		Saab - business as usual in Britain; parts supply "as normal"

07/9/11 - 12:40		Saab - can it be saved?

07/9/11 - 12:36		Saab - files for bankruptcy protection; the official press release; NB excludes Saab GB

07/9/11 - 10:28		The Trade Group Accelerates Its Plans

07/9/11 - 09:05		Hidden fees boost insurers' profits while drivers face record premiums

07/9/11 - 00:47		Driver whose car was damaged by potholes in Coventry wins £2,000 payout

07/9/11 - 00:39		Defaqto - 86% of consumers are comfortable with buying car insurance online

06/9/11 - 23:04		Capita - acquires Insurance Medical Group (IMG) to go with last year's acquisitions of Premier Medical and First Assist

06/9/11 - 21:20		Hex Holdings - confirmation today of the administrators name

06/9/11 - 17:05		South Street Motors awarded PAS 125 Kitemark with help from Standox

06/9/11 - 16:10		Spies Hecker - totally new waterborne basecoat system launched

06/9/11 - 15:34		Government response to House of Commons Transport Committee enquiry into Cost of Motor Insurance to be published on Friday

06/9/11 - 15:20		ABP Club bodyshops make BIG MONEY SAVINGS via RA Brokers exclusive Motor Trade Insurance scheme

06/9/11 - 11:37		SMMT - new van sales in August rose 22.8%; YTD up 20.9%

06/9/11 - 11:26		SMMT - new car sales in August rose by 7.3%; first monthly rise for over a year; YTD down 6.1%

06/9/11 - 11:18		ecar - women lie more than men to get car insurance

06/9/11 - 09:06		Fraudulent whiplash claims: a pain in the neck

06/9/11 - 08:15		'Cowboy' claims firms making £10,000 a time for passing names of accident victims on to lawyers for no-win, no-fee cases

06/9/11 - 08:11		Lord Jackson - insurers selling customer details to lawyers for up to £10,000; government "sympathetic" towards referral fee ban

06/9/11 - 07:28		MoneySupermarket - speeding conviction adds 17% to cost of car insurance premium

06/9/11 - 07:21		RVM Fleet Services - chosen by Trinity Mirror to provide accident management services

06/9/11 - 07:15		IAM - call for government action after their research finds average car insurance premium for 17-year old is £7,091

05/9/11 - 13:02		Leading businesses join forces with the ABI in calling for an end to the ‘have a go’ compensation culture

05/9/11 - 11:34		Markerstudy: Tonbridge Coachworks acquires Bodywork Solihull

05/9/11 - 10:52		Mount Kilimanjaro - Autocrash's Mitchell returns to 'unfinished business' in aid of charity

05/9/11 - 10:19		insurethebox - Telematics really does slash motor insurance costs

05/9/11 - 09:33		Admiral - open new offices in Swansea and take on 200 extra staff to cope with growth

05/9/11 - 07:52		USA - Auto Industry assists national recovery

04/9/11 - 10:25		Car insurance industry ‘puts up smokescreen’, says Furley Page

03/9/11 - 23:20		Road atlas sales fell 30% and street atlas sales fell 44% in last 6 years as 30% of Brits now have a sat-nav

03/9/11 - 11:42		Adapt and Survive

03/9/11 - 09:40		SC Body & Paint Skills Open Day - 7 September

02/9/11 - 20:55		Thatcham and Newbury College Partner to drives automotive opportunities for young people

02/9/11 - 20:51		PPG's Bodyline approved by Ford

02/9/11 - 17:28		Hex Holdings - UK's fourth largest paint distributor, goes into administration; full official details

02/9/11 - 12:24		LV - 1 in 20 drivers would take penalty points for someone else

02/9/11 - 11:43		Trade Group - Nigel Hecks retires from board; Rob Cook appointed executive director; new board of directors appointed

02/9/11 - 11:07		Volkswagen Group - welding certification programme in conjunction with Stanners is on track for 100% success

02/9/11 - 10:38		ADR - buy their12th bodyshop , GPS Body Repairs in Warwick, a commercial vehicle shop owned by Northgate

01/9/11 - 23:32		Ford - to introduce MyKey to European Fiesta from next year, allowing parents to set top speed of car for their children

01/9/11 - 23:20		John Newman Bodyworks celebrates 40 years in business and diversifies to meet future customer needs

01/9/11 - 14:02		Markerstudy Group - appoint Mark Taylor as Group Commercial Director

01/9/11 - 11:38		Audatex - publish results of customer survey together with actions undertaken to address feedback

01/9/11 - 09:57		Groupama , Ageas and Admiral - warn that a standalone ban on referral fees could have negative consequences

01/9/11 - 09:07		Sherwin-Williams launches Smart Repair solution - Colorcube

01/9/11 - 08:48		ABP website - August was busiest month ever with over 55,000 visits; up 83% on last year; 820 messages posted in month on Forum

01/9/11 - 08:24		ABP Club Find A Bodyshop Directory - New Social Media plus YouTube video links added to member Profiles

01/9/11 - 07:33		Vertu Motors - trading update