2025 -- H 6054

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LC002260

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO INSURANCE -- MOTOR VEHICLE APPRAISAL

     Introduced By: Representatives Baginski, Kazarian, Corvese, and Casey

     Date Introduced: March 12, 2025

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 27-10.4-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-10.4 entitled "Motor

Vehicle Appraisal Provision" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     27-10.4-1. Motor vehicle appraisal provision.

     (a) When the insurance company and the insured or claimants fail to agree on the amount

of a loss, either the insured or claimant has the right to exercise the independent appraisal process

outlined in this section. Agreements by the parties shall be binding. Each shall select a disinterested

Rhode Island licensed appraiser. The insurer’s chosen appraiser shall inspect the damaged motor

vehicle within three (3) business days after the written demand is received; provided, the damaged

motor vehicle is on the premises of the repair shop when the request is made. If the insurer’s

appraiser fails to inspect the damaged motor vehicle within the three (3) business days the insurer

shall forfeit its right to inspect the damaged vehicle prior to repairs, and negotiations shall be limited

to labor and the price of parts and shall not, unless objective evidence to the contrary is provided

by the insurer, involve disputes as to the existence of damage or the chosen manner of repair. The

time limitations set forth in this subsection may be extended by mutual agreement between the auto

body repair shop and the insurer.

     (b) If the two (2) appraisers fail to agree on the amount of the loss, the insurer and the

insured or claimant shall select an impartial a disinterested Rhode Island licensed appraiser as an

umpire appraiser. If the two (2) appraisers are unable to agree upon an umpire within three (3)

business days, the party making the initial demand for the loss to be set by appraisal shall select an

umpire each shall submit to the other a list of five (5) other disinterested Rhode Island licensed

appraisers that can serve as umpire and each shall choose one appraiser from the opposing list. If

an umpire is not agreed upon from the two (2) remaining names chosen from the two (2) sides, the

appraiser that submitted their list first to the opposing side shall select an umpire from the remaining

two (2) licensed appraisers. The appraisers shall then submit their differences to the umpire

appraiser. The umpire appraiser shall render a decision within three (3) business days, and written

agreement by any two (2) of the three (3) shall set the amount of the loss. The time limitations set

forth in this subsection may be extended by mutual agreement between the auto body repair shop

and the insurer. The cost of the umpire appraiser shall be shared equally between the two (2) sides.

     (c) The insurer shall not engage in any act or practice of intimidation, coercion, threat, or

misrepresentation of consumer rights, for or against an insured person, claimant, or entity chosen

in this process.

     (d) For the purposes of this section, a "disinterested Rhode Island licensed appraiser" means

a Rhode Island licensed appraiser who has not received payment or compensation of any type from

the insurer or the consumer in the previous sixty (60) days.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO INSURANCE -- MOTOR VEHICLE APPRAISAL

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     This act would change the process by which a dispute between the insured or claimant and

the insurance company responsible for property damage is resolved. It requires that the umpire

appraisers shall be disinterested and chosen by agreement or by exchanging lists of five (5) names,

and if no agreement is reached, whoever submitted a list first will select the appraiser. The cost of

the appraisal shall be shared equally.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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