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US: State Farm met with car shop repair antitrust suit

By  |  March 12, 2014

A group of auto repair shops in Florida have reportedly filed legal action against State Farm and other car insurers for anticompetitive conduct.

The lawsuit, which was filed against State Farm and a dozen other insurers, accuses the companies of illegally lowering repair costs and, if the repair shops do not comply, of anticomeptitively steering customers away from those shops.

One of the shops, A&E Auto Body, reportedly accuses State Farm “acting as the spearhead to improperly and illegally control and depress automobile damage repair costs to the detriment of the plaintiffs.”

According to the plaintiffs, insurance customers make up between 70 and 95 percent of all shop repair customers.

In addition to artificially controlling market costs, reports say the insurers are accused of illegally colluding with each other.

Full Content: Glass Bytes

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