Right-to-apprasial companion bill filed in New Jersey
A New Jersey right-to-appraisal bill was filed last week as a companion bill to one filed earlier this year.
Assembly Bill 6106 was filed by Rep. Dan Hutchison (D-4) and Rep. Cody Miller (D-4) Nov. 24. It was introduced and referred to the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.
It is the same as SB4534 filed by Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-4) in June. The bill hasn’t moved since being referred to the Senate Commerce Committee soon after introduction.
Both bills require insurance policies to have a provision allowing for an appraisal by a “competent and disinterested appraiser.”
An appraiser can be used if the policyholder and insurer disagree on actual cash value or the amount of loss, including the repairable and total loss amount of an automobile reported on a claim, or the offer of settlement to a third-party liability claim.
Either party may submit a written demand letter to the other invoking the appraisal provision. The other party must notify the initiating party within 20 calendar days after receiving the letter.
If the appraisers fail to agree on the actual cash value and amount of loss, or an offer of settlement, the documents completed by both appraisers should be submitted to an umpire. If the parties disagree on an umpire, a judge in a court of competent jurisdiction would decide.
Ken Miller, Alliance for Automotive Service Providers New Jersey (AASP-NJ) president, previously said this is the first time a right-to-appraisal bill has been introduced in the state.
Washington, Texas and Rhode Island passed right-to-appraisal laws this year and Illinois has also filed a right-to-appraisal bill.
Jill Tuggle, Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) executive director, and Justin Lewis, Washington Independent Collision Repair Association (WICRA) president, discussed the six-year lobbying journey each took to pass right-to-appraisal legislation in their states during a Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting last month at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
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