Georgia bill seeks to stop steering, require OEM procedures and supplemental estimate timelines

A recently filed Georgia bill would create violations for steering, make OEM procedure requirements, and supplemental estimate timelines if passed in the state. 

Bill 1117 was filed Feb. 2 with sponsorship by six Republican lawmakers. 

Chad Watkins, Georgia Collision Industry Association (GCIA) president, said this is the first bill the association has brought forth.  

“A lot of people have been very supportive of us,” Watkins said. “They are looking at the voters and constituents and seeing what their needs are. That is what this bill is, it is protecting the consumer.” 

It has taken years for GCIA to raise money via fundraising to hire a lobbyist to help with the bill, Watkins said. He said he’s taken advice from other associations on how to move forward and understands that the process takes patience. 

“There are so many things that we are doing behind the scenes to push this bill through,” Watkins said. 

The bill sharpens and expands state code focused on insurance steering. 

It states that all vehicle policies shall allow a claimant to select the repair facility to provide repairs covered under the policy and that insurance companies shall not require a claimant to use a repair facility in which the insurer has a financial interest. 

The bill continues by stating that an insurance company cannot represent to a claimant that the use of a particular facility may result in a nonpayment or delayed or reduced payment. It also bans insurance companies from saying that a claim could be of less quality or be more timely. 

If an insurance company recommends the use of a repair facility, they must inform the claimant that they have no obligation to use the facility and that the claimant may use a repair facility of their choice. The insurance company also must tell the claimant that the amount will be the same regardless of their choice and must reveal any financial interest the insurance company has in their recommended facility. 

The bill also requires policies to provide all repairs in accordance with OEM repair procedures. It bans policies from requiring claimants to deviate from, deny, omit, or disregard the procedures, parts, and specifications. 

OEM procedures include, but are not limited to, any labor, materials, parts, calibrations, scanning, or sublet operation that is documented in a written estimate or supplemental estimate from a repair facility or in a written request from the facility or claimant, the bill says. It notes this is applicable to OEM service publications, position statements, or procedures identified. 

Insurance companies can only deny the OEM repair procedure with a written itemized explanation, including but not limited to, policy coverage limitations, prior payment, duplication, or unrelated to loss specific to the OEM repair procedures.

It can also be denied if it constitutes an unfair claims settlement practice under state law. 

The bill would also require insurance companies to promptly acknowledge and investigate claims of supplement damage submitted by a repair facility or claimant. 

Within one business day of notification of the supplement damage and estimate, the insurer would be required to assign an appraiser to inspect the damaged vehicle in person or review the estimate, the bill says. 

The insurance company would be required to complete an inspection of the vehicle in person or review the supplemental estimate within three business days and provide a written response or extend the inspection and review by an additional three business if the insurer notifies the repair facility and claimant of specific unforeseen circumstances that necessitate an extension. 

Insurance companies would be required to provide a repair facility and claimant with a written decision indicating the line items, parts, or operations that are approved and authorized for payment within 10 business days, the bill says. 

The notification should include explanation for any of the line items that are denied, reduced, or altered. 

If the bill is passed, claimants aggrieved by a violation of the code would have private cause of action for injunctive relief, treble damages, and other relief, the bill says. The state’s insurance commissioner also would promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the code.

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Photo of House of Representatives in the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, courtesy of benedek/iStock