FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1996                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ALLOWS ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT AUTOMOTIVE
   DAMAGE APPRAISERS TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL MARKETING PROGRAM

                                 
     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department today approved a
proposal by a national trade association of local automotive
damage appraisers to establish a program to market and sell the
services of its members on a national or multi-regional contract
basis, allowing them to compete with large appraisal companies. 
Several large non-member appraisal companies have recently
captured a large and growing share of the national automotive
damage appraisal service market because of their ability to
provide national and multi-regional services.
     The Independent Automotive Damage Appraisers Association is
a national trade association of some 92 independent automotive
damage appraisers located in various geographic regions of the
country.  Traditionally, association members have sold their
services to local insurance companies, oil leasing companies,
banks, and fleet service companies.  However, many potential
customers operate nationally, or on a multi-regional basis, and
prefer to do business with damage appraisers that can provide 
services over a large geographic area.
     "By allowing smaller, regional firms to compete with the
larger damage appraisal companies, this proposal could create a
more robust competitive environment in this important industry,"
said Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of
the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
     In order to compete effectively for national account
business, the association proposes to use an independent third
party agent to market member services on a national or multi-
regional basis.  The independent agent will function essentially
as a "messenger."  It will be authorized to meet with national
account representatives for the purpose of soliciting business
for the independent association members.  The agent, however,
will not have the authority to negotiate contract terms on behalf
of the association or any of its members.
     The third party agent will inform the entire association
membership of the terms on which a national account is willing to
refer matters to members, and will forward to the national
account a list of those members that are willing to perform
appraisals according to the terms of the national account's
proposal.  No limitations will be imposed on the rights of
association members to contact the national accounts directly and
offer to provide their services on an individual basis.  
     Association members will not exchange information with one
another as to whether or not they intend to accept or reject any
specific national account proposal or the terms on which they
would be willing to deal.  Any national account that wishes to 
participate in the Independent Automotive Damage Appraisers
Association marketing program will have the right to choose the
specific members with whom it wishes to deal.  National accounts
will be free to deal with all or only some of the association's
membership.
     The Department's position was stated in a business review
letter from Assistant Attorney General Bingaman to counsel for
the association.  The Department concluded it is unlikely that
the proposed marketing program will be harmful to competition for
several reasons -- the association's members are only a small
percentage of the total number of damage appraisers operating
nationwide, members will not discuss price with each other and,
each member will make their own decision about whether or on what
terms it will deal with a national account.
       Under the Department's business review procedure, an
organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust
Division and receive a statement of whether the Division will
challenge the action under the antitrust laws.
     A file containing the business review request and the
Department's response may be examined in the Legal Procedure Unit
of the Antitrust Division, Suite 215, Liberty Place, 325 7th
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.  20004.  After a thirty-day
waiting period, the documents supporting the business review will
be added to the file.
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