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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0901 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002598 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO INSURANCE -- MOTOR VEHICLE APPRAISAL |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Tikoian, Lawson, LaMountain, DiPalma, and Sosnowski |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: March 27, 2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: Senate Judiciary |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Section 27-10.4-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-10.4 entitled "Motor 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Vehicle Appraisal Provision" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 27-10.4-1. Motor vehicle appraisal provision. 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (a) When the insurance company and the insured or claimants fail to agree on the amount 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | of a loss, either the insured or claimant has the right to exercise the independent appraisal process 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | outlined in this section. Agreements by the parties shall be binding. Each shall select a disinterested 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Rhode Island licensed appraiser. The insurer’s chosen appraiser shall inspect the damaged motor 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | vehicle within three (3) business days after the written demand is received; provided, the damaged 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | motor vehicle is on the premises of the repair shop when the request is made. If the insurer’s 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | appraiser fails to inspect the damaged motor vehicle within the three (3) business days the insurer 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | shall forfeit its right to inspect the damaged vehicle prior to repairs, and negotiations shall be limited 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | to labor and the price of parts and shall not, unless objective evidence to the contrary is provided 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | by the insurer, involve disputes as to the existence of damage or the chosen manner of repair. The 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | time limitations set forth in this subsection may be extended by mutual agreement between the auto 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | body repair shop and the insurer. 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) If the two (2) appraisers fail to agree on the amount of the loss, the insurer and the 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | insured or claimant shall select an impartial a disinterested Rhode Island licensed appraiser as an 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | umpire appraiser. If the two (2) appraisers are unable to agree upon an umpire within three (3) 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | business days, the party making the initial demand for the loss to be set by appraisal shall select an 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002598 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | umpire each shall submit to the other a list of five (5) other disinterested Rhode Island licensed 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | appraisers that can serve as umpire and each shall choose one appraiser from the opposing list. If 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | an umpire is not agreed upon from the two (2) remaining names chosen from the two (2) sides, the 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | appraiser that submitted their list first to the opposing side shall select an umpire from the remaining 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | two (2) licensed appraisers. The appraisers shall then submit their differences to the umpire 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | appraiser. The umpire appraiser shall render a decision within three (3) business days, and written 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | agreement by any two (2) of the three (3) shall set the amount of the loss. The time limitations set 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | forth in this subsection may be extended by mutual agreement between the auto body repair shop 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | and the insurer. The cost of the umpire appraiser shall be shared equally between the two (2) sides. 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (c) The insurer shall not engage in any act or practice of intimidation, coercion, threat, or 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | misrepresentation of consumer rights, for or against an insured person, claimant, or entity chosen 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | in this process. 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (d) For the purposes of this section, a "disinterested Rhode Island licensed appraiser" means 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | a Rhode Island licensed appraiser who has not received payment or compensation of any type from 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | the insurer or the consumer in the previous sixty (60) days. 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | ======== |
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| 61 | 61 | | LC002598 |
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| 62 | 62 | | ======== |
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| 63 | 63 | | |
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| 64 | 64 | | |
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| 65 | 65 | | LC002598 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 66 | 66 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 67 | 67 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 68 | 68 | | OF |
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| 69 | 69 | | A N A C T |
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| 70 | 70 | | RELATING TO INSURANCE -- MOTOR VEHICLE APPRAISAL |
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| 71 | 71 | | *** |
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| 72 | 72 | | This act would change the process by which a dispute between the insured or claimant and 1 |
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| 73 | 73 | | the insurance company responsible for property damage is resolved. It requires that the umpire 2 |
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| 74 | 74 | | appraisers shall be disinterested and chosen by agreement or by exchanging lists of five (5) names, 3 |
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| 75 | 75 | | and if no agreement is reached, whoever submitted a list first will select the appraiser. The cost of 4 |
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| 76 | 76 | | the appraisal shall be shared equally. 5 |
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| 77 | 77 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 6 |
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| 78 | 78 | | ======== |
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| 79 | 79 | | LC002598 |
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