An automobile insurance company, IDS Property Casualty Insurance Co., was fined $71,100 by Colorado insurance regulators for “steering” repair business to certain shops.

The company, better known as Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance Co., also was ordered to change its business practices following an investigation into repair shop “steering,” which violates Colorado law.

Steering, in which an insurance company illegally pushes business to certain repair shops using rebates or incentives, can harm consumers by restricting consumer choice, according to Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison.

Between September 2006 and last January, more than 700 Colorado consumers participated in the Ameriprise incentive program, for which they received a discount of $100 off the collision deductible amount for using a repair shop that

was contracted with the insurance company as a direct repair facility.

The fine equals $100 for each customer steered to a preferred repair shop included in the program. By law, the company also will pay a 10% surcharge ($7,100) to the Colorado insurance department outreach and education fund.