A proposed amendment to current legislation has been submitted to the New Hampshire state legislature that would require auto insurers to reimburse independent repair shops—including glass companies—similarly to auto dealerships. If passed, the law could have implications for the auto glass industry within the state and possibly those surrounding it.
The proposed amendment reads, “The ‘fair and reasonable price’ shall not be lower than that customarily paid to a repair shop or facility in the area that is part of or affiliated with an automobile dealership.”
According to the law’s current language, a “fair and reasonable price” refers to the limit in which an auto insurer is obliged to pay based on other local repair shops’ prices for materials and labor. However, if an insurer and vendor can’t agree on a reimbursement amount, a “fair and reasonable price” would be determined by “the price available from a recognized, competent and conveniently located, independent repair shop or facility which is willing and able to repair the damaged automobile within a reasonable time. The ‘fair and reasonable price’ shall not be lower than that customarily paid to a repair shop or facility in the area that is part of or affiliated with an automobile dealership.”
The bill has been pre-filed, meaning it was submitted for introduction or first reading before the 2018 session begins. It will be introduced to the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Affairs in January 2018.
HB 1663 was co-sponsored by Reps. Dennis Green, Peter Torosian and Kenneth Weyler and Sen. Regina Birdsell.
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