A bill with some of the strongest regulations for auto glass repair and replacement companies in the country was introduced recently in the state of Washington.
Recalibration Notification
The bill would require auto glass repair and replacement shops to inform customers if their vehicle has Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) before performing a replacement and notify them if they plan to recalibrate according to manufacturer specifications.
“If the motor vehicle glass repair shop is not capable of performing or does not intend to perform a calibration or … the motor vehicle should be taken to the vehicle manufacturer’s certified dealership or a qualified specialist capable of performing the calibration or recalibration,” the bill says.
The bill does not specify who is supposed to take the vehicle to the qualified specialist for recalibration.
A Long List of Bans
The bill would prohibit the assignment of benefits. It also bans auto glass shops, “or any other person who is compensated for the solicitation of insurance claims,” from offering “rebates, gifts, gift cards, cash coupons, fees, prizes, bonuses, payment, incentive, inducement or any other thing of value” in exchange for the insured making a glass claim.
Washington shops would also not be allowed to:
- Charge higher fees “than are reasonable and customarily charged in [the] state”;
- “Submit false, misleading or incomplete documentation or information” to the customer or their insurer;
- Say that the work was performed in one geographical area when it was actually performed in another;
- Suggest a customer falsify the date the auto glass damage occurred;
- “Falsely sign a work order or other insurance-related form relating to an insured’s claim, or potential claim”;
- Misrepresent the price of the job to the customer or their insurance company;
- Tell a customer that their insurance has approved a repair or replacement without verifying the coverage with the insurer or insurance agent and getting written confirmation of the coverage;
- “State that a repair or replacement of damaged motor vehicle glass will be paid for entirely by an insurer and at no cost to the insured unless the coverage has been verified by the insurer or the insurer’s agent”;
- “Damage, or encourage an insured to damage,” the car to “increase the scope” of work required;
- Do any work “clearly and substantially beyond the level of work necessary” to return the vehicle to its pre-damaged condition;
- Misrepresent the motor vehicle glass repair shop’s relationship to an insured or the insurer’s agent;
- Or “perform any other act that constitutes fraud or misrepresentation.”
If any shop violates these regulations regularly, the bill says “there is a presumption that [the shop] is acting knowingly in violation of this section.”
Insured customers must submit a claim, which typically involves speaking with a third-party administrator (TPA), and provide the claim number to a shop before it can officially accept the job.
Consumer Education about TPAs
The bill would affirm an insurer or TPA’s right to “recommend a motor vehicle glass repair shop or provide an explanation to an insured of the coverage available, and any applicable liability limit, under any insurance policy.”
Any insurer or TPA “that owns in whole or in part a motor vehicle glass repair shop that is processing a claim limited only to auto glass” would have to “verbally inform” Washington claimants that they have the right to choose a preferred repair facility and educate the claimant on TPAs.
“[The insurer or TPA must] verbally inform the person making the claim of loss that the TPA is an entity separate from the insurer that has a financial arrangement to process automobile glass claims on the insurer’s behalf,” the bill says.
If the bill passes, auto glass claimants in Washington would also have the right to know if a TPA or insurer owns the shop they choose. The bill requires every TPA-owned shop to post a notice in all caps and at least 18-point font saying:
“This motor vehicle glass repair shop is owned in whole or in part by (name of insurer or insurer’s TPA). You are hereby notified that you are entitled under Washington law to seek repairs at any motor vehicle glass repair shop of your choice.”
If the shop is mobile, the insurer or TPA must notify the customer verbally “prior to commencement of the repair or replacement.”
The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 11.