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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2518 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1260
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Paul McMurtry
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing the fair calculation of labor rates paid by insurance companies to auto
repairers in the Commonwealth.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk1/16/2025 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2518 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1260
By Representative McMurtry of Dedham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1260) of
Paul McMurtry for legislation to authorize the Commissioner of the Division of Insurance to set
labor rates paid by insurance companies to auto repairers. Financial Services.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1095 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act establishing the fair calculation of labor rates paid by insurance companies to auto
repairers in the Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 100A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
2Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 14 the following section:-
3 Section 15. The commissioner of insurance shall set the minimum hourly labor rate that
4insurers shall pay on insured claims for repairs made by registered motor vehicle repair shops.
5 In determining the minimum rate paid by insurers on all Massachusetts insured motor
6vehicle damage claims, the compensation for the minimum hourly labor rate that insurers shall
7pay on insured claims for repairs made by registered motor vehicle repair shops shall be
8calculated by utilizing the method described in this section. 2 of 2
9 The compensation for the minimum hourly labor rate that insurers shall pay on insured
10claims for repairs made by registered motor vehicle repair shops shall be established by the
11repair shop submitting to the insurer 100 sequential customer-paid collision repair orders or 60
12consecutive days of customer-paid collision repair orders, whichever is less, from which the
13repairer shall calculate the average customer paid hourly labor rate, which shall be declared the
14minimum hourly labor rate that the insurer will pay to the repairer. The minimum hourly labor
15rate shall go into effect 30 days following the declaration, subject to audit of the submitted
16collision repair orders by the insurer and a rebuttal of the declared rate. If the declared rate is
17rebutted, the insurer shall propose an adjustment of the minimum hourly labor rate based on the
18rebuttal not later than 30 days after submission. If the repairer does not agree with the minimum
19hourly labor rate proposed by the insurer, the repairer may file an action with the commissioner
20of insurance 30 days after receipt of the proposal by the insurer. In an action commenced under
21this section, the insurer shall have the burden of proving that the rate declared by the repairer was
22inaccurate or unreasonable.
23 SECTION 2. Section 113B of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
24Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “commissioner” in line 14, the
25following:- “; provided, however, that collision repair hourly labor rates, set pursuant to section
2615 of chapter 100A, shall not be included when considering programs to control costs and
27expenses under this section or section 113H.”
28 SECTION 3. Within 90 days of the enactment of Section 1, the commissioner of the
29division of insurance shall promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of
30Sections 1 and 2, inclusive.