WASHINGTON, D.C. — Automotive Service Association (ASA) Collision Division Director Darrell Amberson, AAM, testified before the Property and Casualty Insurance Committee at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) Summer Meeting in Rhode Island on aftermarket crash parts.

ASA submitted written comments in opposition to state aftermarket parts certification legislation at the NCOIL Spring Meeting earlier this year.

“ASA does not believe that the aftermarket parts certification legislation under consideration adequately protects consumers or repairers. Vehicle owners deserve notice as to the types of parts used in the repair of their vehicles after an accident. The use of any replacement crash parts should follow only after written consent by the vehicle owner,” Amberson said at the hearing.

Amberson continued, “Before establishing state-sanctioned certification bureaucracies, I ask that you first allow our federal policymakers to get their house in order at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in relation to aftermarket crash parts. Crash parts policy at NHTSA has a long way to go, but the law is in place to address safety concerns. If not, Congress should bear the burden of establishing expanded authority for NHTSA.”

In 2001, the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report on replacement crash parts as requested by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. The GAO concluded that existing studies of the safety of aftermarket crash parts and recycled airbags showed mixed results. The GAO also highlighted the inefficiencies or limitations of NHTSA’s ability to determine aftermarket crash parts defects and recall system.

ASA supports disclosure laws that require insurers and collision repair facilities to obtain the written consent of vehicle owners before installing replacement crash parts.

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