PETITION OF:

SECTION 1: Chapter 26, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the eighteenth paragraph of section 8G and inserting in place thereof the following:—

No insurer or appraiser shall require, suggest, request, or recommend that any appraisals or repairs should or should not be made in a specified registered repair facility or facilities authorized under section 34O of chapter 90 or otherwise, nor shall an insurer or appraiser use coercion or intimidation to cause appraisals or repairs to be made or not made, in any specified repair facility or facilities. If specifically requested by an insured or claimant, an insurer or appraiser shall be entitled to provide a list of registered repair shops as authorized by section 34O of chapter 90 and by section 113O of chapter 175. Any violations of this paragraph that constitute a pattern of behavior shall constitute a violation of chapter 176D of the General Laws and shall be enforced by the commissioner.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 2: Chapter 26, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the nineteenth paragraph of section 8G and inserting in place thereof the following:—

Notwithstanding the provision of any law or regulation to the contrary, an insurer shall not be required to assign an appraiser if the amount of the loss, less any applicable deductible, is less than $2,500.00. When a shop requests a new appraisal or supplementary allowance and the insurer and a repair shop agree to an expedited repair process, the shop shall electronically submit an itemized estimate of the original cost of repairing the damaged vehicle, or in the case of a request for a supplementary allowance, the additional cost necessary to complete the repairs of the damaged vehicle, together with such supporting information as may be required. The insurer shall be required to provide a licensed appraiser as authorized under this chapter to review all original and supplemental allowance repair requests. Further, the insurer shall be required to communicate with the repair shop within three business days as to whether it accepts the requested new appraisal or supplementary allowance. If the insurer accepts the new appraisal or supplementary allowance, the repair shop shall proceed with the completion of the repairs as agreed and payment in full shall be remitted within five business days following completion of the repairs unless another mutually agreed upon payment process is in place between the insurer and the repair shop. In the event that an insurer does not accept in full the requested new appraisal or supplementary allowance or if the insurer fails to respond to the repair shop within three business days, the insurer and repair shop shall be obligated to proceed in accordance with the regulations of the board regarding the assignment of an appraiser by the insurer. Any appraisal written by a registered repair shop and submitted to an insurer shall be accompanied by a signed authorization by the vehicle owner or authorized representative to repair the vehicle as appraised and a direction to pay form authoring payment directly to the repair shop. Payment for all necessary repairs shall be remitted by the insurer to the repair shop within five business days following the completion of the necessary repairs or five business days following the re-inspection of the repairs, whichever action comes first, unless another mutually agreed upon payment process is in place between the insurer and the repair shop.

Failure to comply with the provisions of the above paragraph will result in a fine of not less than $100.00 or more than $500.00 per incident and shall be payable to the Division of Insurance by the insurer. A violation of the above paragraph shall be considered an unfair claims settlement practice in the business of insurance in addition to those practices set forth in section 9 of chapter 176D.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 3: Section 34O of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in the fourteenth paragraph the words: “provided, however, that for at least seventy-five per cent of those claims where the appraisal indicates that the cost of repairs will exceed four thousand dollars and at least twenty-fiver per cent of those claims where the appraisal indicates that the cost of repairs will be four thousand dollars or less, a licensed auto damage appraiser shall re-inspect the vehicle following completion of repairs and shall certify on the claim form that the work has been completed in accordance with an appraisal made pursuant to said regulations” and inserting in place thereof the following:— provided, however, that the commissioner may establish requirements for re-inspection by licensed damage appraisers during or following the completion of repairs. In cases where a completed work claim form is required, a licensed auto damage appraiser, which may include a repair shop appraiser, shall certify that the work has been completed in accordance with an appraisal or repair order.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 4: Section 34O of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking in the fifteenth paragraph the words “The commissioner may require any plan” and inserting in place thereof the following words:— “The commissioner shall require any plan.”

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 5: Section 34O of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking clause (a) in the fifteenth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:—

(a) that the insured or claimant will be given, if he or she requests, a single list of not less than twenty repair shops registered under chapter 100A of the General Laws which are located within at least a five mile radius geographically convenient for the insured or claimant, which shall be arranged in alphabetical order according to city or town, with no highlights, asterisks, underlining, font size differences or phone number or any other form of identification to indicate that any shop is a referral shop or referral repair facility, from which the insured or claimant may at his or her option select a shop, which will without undue delay complete repair work for the amount of the payment to the insured, plus any applicable deductible. No insurer shall use or calculate a less favorable labor rate for a repair shop based upon a shop not being a participant of a direct payment plan authorized by this section and by section 113O of chapter 175 or not being a participant in an expedited repair process authorized by section 8G of chapter 26. Further, an insurer shall not guarantee or warrantee the quality of repairs at any participating or non-participating direct payment plan repair facility or express repair process facility;

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 6: Section 34O of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking clause (c) in the fifteenth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:—

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 7: Section 34O of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end of clause (e) of the fifteenth paragraph the following:—

Failure to comply with the provisions of clauses (a) through (e) of this paragraph shall result in a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 per incident and shall be payable to the Division of Insurance by the insurer and shall also be considered a violation of chapter 176D of the General Laws and shall be enforced by the commissioner.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 8: Chapter 100A, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in line 17 of section 2 the word “ten” and inserting in place thereof the word “twenty-five.”

The provisions of this section shall take effect on June 1, 2006.

SECTION 9: Chapter 100A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by inserting in section 2 at end of the first paragraph the following sentence:—

Said application shall be further accompanied by proof in writing from a licensed insurance company registered in the Commonwealth of the motor vehicle repair shop’s workers’ compensation insurance, if applicable, and liability insurance.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 10: Chapter 100A is further amended by inserting in section 2 at the end thereof the following paragraphs:—

Any motor vehicle repair shop applying for a certificate of registration under the current chapter is required to have all local, state, and federal licenses and permits including a state sales tax identification number, a federal tax identification number, and a hazardous waste or Environmental Protection Agency number. Every shop is required at all times to operate in accordance with the current Environmental Protection Agency compliance regulations, current Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, and to comply with all state and local fire and electrical codes and must provide proof of compliance upon request.

Except for glass repair facilities and specialty repair facilities otherwise specifically exempted by the commissioner of insurance for good cause, every motor vehicle repair shop shall have, and as a condition for registration shall certify that it has: (1) a paint spray booth or room meeting the requirements of all applicable statutes, ordinances, and regulations promulgated by the commissioner; (2) high-volume, low-pressure paint spraying equipment, or its equivalent; (3) metal inert gas welding equipment, or its equivalent; (4) proper equipment and permits, or an identified contracted source having proper equipment and permits, for the evacuation of motor vehicle air-conditioning systems; (5) proper equipment, or an identified contracted source having proper equipment, for motor vehicle frame and unibody repair and measuring; and (6) proper equipment, or an identified contracted source having proper equipment, for performing motor vehicle wheel alignment.

The commissioner of insurance shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for the establishment of any additional minimum equipment standards required for every registered motor vehicle repair shop in the commonwealth.

The division of standards shall inspect all registered repair facilities on a biannual basis to insure compliance with the aforementioned requirements. Failure to comply with any of the requirements will result in the forfeiture of the registration until such time as the division re-inspects the facility and determines the shop is in full compliance. No insurer or its agents may negotiate the repair of any vehicle with a shop that is unregistered or has its registration suspended nor with any unlicensed individual in a repair facility.

The provisions of this section shall take effect on June 1, 2006.

SECTION 11: Chapter 100A is further amended by striking out in line 3 of section 2A the word “ten” and inserting in place thereof the word “twenty-five.”

The provisions of this section shall take effect on June 1, 2006.

SECTION 12: Section 113O of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in the third paragraph the words: “provided, however, that for at least seventy-five per cent of those claims where the appraisal indicates that the cost of repairs will exceed four thousand dollars and at least twenty-fiver per cent of those claims where the appraisal indicates that the cost of repairs will be four thousand dollars or less, a licensed auto damage appraiser shall re-inspect the vehicle following completion of repairs and shall certify on the claim form that the work has been completed in accordance with an appraisal made pursuant to said regulations” and inserting in place thereof the following:— provided, however, that the commissioner may establish requirements for re-inspection by licensed damage appraisers during or following the completion of repairs. In cases where a completed work claim form is required, a licensed auto damage appraiser, which may include a repair shop appraiser, shall certify that the work has been completed in accordance with an appraisal or repair order.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 13: Section 113O of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by striking clause (a) in the fourth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:— that the insured or claimant will be given, if he or she requests, a single list of not less than twenty repair shops registered under chapter 100A of the General Laws which are located within at least a five mile radius geographically convenient for the insured or claimant, which shall be arranged in alphabetical order according to city or town, with no highlights, asterisks, underlining, font size differences or phone number or any other form of identification to indicate that any shop is a referral shop or referral repair facility, from which the insured or claimant may at his or her option select a shop, which will without undue delay complete repair work for the amount of the payment to the insured, plus any applicable deductible. No insurer shall use or calculate a less favorable labor rate for a repair shop based upon a shop not being a participant of a direct payment plan authorized by this section and by section 113O of chapter 175 or not being a participant in an expedited repair process authorized by section 8G of chapter 26. Further, an insurer shall not guarantee or warrantee the quality of repairs at any participating or non-participating direct payment plan repair facility or express repair process facility;

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 14: Section 113O of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by striking clause (c) in the fourth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:— No insurer or appraiser shall require, suggest, request, or recommend that any appraisals or repairs should or should not be made in a specified registered repair facility or facilities authorized under section 34O of chapter 90 or otherwise, nor shall an insurer or appraiser use coercion or intimidation to cause appraisals or repairs to be made or not made, in any specified repair facility or facilities. If specifically requested by an insured or claimant, an insurer or appraiser shall be entitled to provide a list of registered repair shops as authorized by this section and by section 34O of chapter 90.

The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

SECTION 15: Section 113O of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by inserting at the end of clause (e) of the fourth paragraph the following:— Failure to comply with the provisions of clauses (a) through (e) of this paragraph shall result in a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 per incident and shall be payable to the Division of Insurance by the insurer and shall also be considered a violation of chapter 176D of the General Laws and shall be enforced by the commissioner. The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage