| Introduced By: Representative Thomas Palangio |
| Date Introduced: February 4, 1997 |
| Referred To: House Committee on Corporations |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows
SECTION 1. Section 27-10.1-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-10.1 entitled "Motor Vehicle Damage Appraiser" is hereby amended to read as follows:
27-10.1-6. Conduct of motor vehicle damage appraisers. -- (a) Each appraiser, while engaged in appraisal duties, shall carry the license issued that appraiser by the department of business regulation and shall display it, upon request, to an owner whose vehicle is being inspected, to the auto body shop representative involved, or to any authorized representative of the department of business regulation.
(b) The appraiser shall leave a legible copy of his or her
appraisal with the auto body shop selected to make the repairs,
{DEL which DEL} {ADD at the time of inspection. The ADD} appraisal shall contain
the name of the insurance company ordering it, if any, the insurance
file number, the number of the appraiser's license, and the proper
identification number of the vehicle being inspected. All damage
unrelated to the incident or accident that occasioned the appraisal of
the vehicle, or old damage, shall be clearly indicated in the
appraisal. {ADD If the repair shop requires a completed appraisal at the
time the vehicle is viewed, then the repair shop shall make available
desk space, phone facilities, calculator and necessary manuals. A
reasonable extension of time is permissible when intervening
circumstances such as the need for preliminary repairs, severe
illness, failure of the parties other than the insurer to communicate
or cooperate, or extreme weather conditions make timely inspection of
the vehicle and completion of the appraisal impossible. ADD}
(c) The appraiser shall not obtain a competitive estimate from another auto body shop unless the owner of that other shop, or his or her authorized agent, has inspected the vehicle. No competitive estimate shall be obtained by the use of photographs, telephone calls, or in any manner other than a personal inspection.
(d) No appraiser shall request that repairs be made in a specified auto body shop.
(e) Every appraiser shall reinspect damaged vehicles when supplementary allowances are requested by the auto body shops.
(f) No appraiser shall receive directly or indirectly any gratuity or other consideration in connection with his appraisal services from any person except his employer, or, if self-employed, his customers.
(f) No appraiser shall traffic in automobile salvage if it is obtained in any way as a result of appraisal services rendered by the appraiser.
(h) No appraiser shall obtain an estimate from an unlicensed automobile body repair shop nor shall any appraiser agree on a price for repairing a damaged motor vehicle with an unlicensed automobile body repair shop. Nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to preclude an appraiser from dealing with an entity not subject to the licensing provisions of section 5-38-4 of the general laws.
{ADD (i) No appraiser shall modify any published manual, such as Motor, Mitchell or any automated appraisal system, without prior negotiation between the parties.
(j) No appraiser shall use more than one (1) manual or system for the sole purpose of gaining an advantage in the negotiation process.
(k) The appraiser shall itemize the cost of all parts, labor, materials, and necessary procedures required to restore the vehicle to pre-accident condition, and shall total such items. The total cost of repairing the damage shall be computed by adding any applicable sales tax payable on the cost of replacement parts and other materials.
(l) With respect to refinishing materials, if the formula of dollars times hours does not adequately reflect the actual cost of a particular repair, a published manual or electronic database recognized by the automotive collision repair industry, or other form of documentation shall be used. ADD}
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
* * *
This act sets forth certain guidelines to be utilized for the appraisal of and cost to repair a damaged motor vehicle.
This act would take effect upon passage.
