Oklahoma bill increasing threshold for salvage title passes Senate; Insurance attacks SD total loss bill

An Oklahoma bill that would increase the threshold for a salvage title from 60% to 70% passed the Senate Monday. 

SB 1920, sponsored by two senators with insurance ties, passed 48-0.

Sen. Aaron Reinhardt (R-District 37), one of the bill sponsors, told the Senate Business and Insurance Committee that the bill modernizes the cost of repair. 

“It reflects current repair economics,” Reinhardt said. “Repair costs continue to rise dramatically based on inflation, technology advances, higher labor and parts costs; this is a benefit to consumers.” 

He said the bill would protect consumers and make the threshold comparable to neighboring states. 

“Insurance carriers and the insurance department — everyone agrees this needs to be done,” he said.

If passed, insurance companies could still declare a vehicle a total loss without reaching the threshold. It would only change when a vehicle could receive a salvage title. Total loss vehicles without a salvage title sell at higher prices. 

Mark Tedford (R-District 69) also sponsored the bill. Both Tedford and Reinhardt were the focus of a recent article questioning the influence property insurance has on lawmaking in the state. It was published by the nonprofit news site Oklahoma Watch. 

Tedford was also a sponsor of a storage fees bill that became law Nov. 1. The original bill, SB641, passed through committee and was later changed to include storage cap language while on the Senate floor just before a vote. 

Reinhardt and Tedford also sponsored a bill last year that bans consumers from assigning benefits to auto body shops.

The Oklahoma Auto Body Association (OKABA) and 13 auto body shops argue that the two passed bills are unconstitutional in separate lawsuits.

In South Dakota, a bill that would raise the total loss threshold to 75% has received pushback from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), which claims it would negatively impact consumer premiums. 

SB 227 would prohibit insurance companies from declaring a motor vehicle a total loss unless the cost of repairs meets or exceeds 75% of the actual cash value. The bill allows insurers to declare it under the threshold if the insurer receives a written request from the vehicle owner. 

The bill was introduced by Sen. Steve Kolbeck (R-District 2) on Feb. 4. After a 4-2 approval by the Senate Transportation Committee, it moved to the Senate floor, where it passed 27-6. 

On Tuesday, the House Transportation Committee voted to table the bill. 

The South Dakota Auto Body Association (SDABA) is lobbying in support of the legislation, which they call a consumer protection bill. 

Justin Smith, lobbyist for SDABA, previously said the association supports the bill on behalf of customers who have encountered these issues. He said the bill gives customers the power to decide whether they want to accept a settlement from the insurance company. 

Yet, APCIA claims the bill would threaten road safety. 

Brooke Kelley, assistant vice president of state government relations at APCIA, said in a released statement, “Total loss claims decisions should be guided with the goal of safe, quality repairs and flexibility to address individual circumstances, but SB 227 replaces that flexibility with a hard rule that could undermine safety, consumer choice, and could drive up costs.”

The statement goes on to say the bill could force repairs even when serious safety concerns remain. This could allow for unsafe vehicles to stay on the road, threatening overall driver and road safety. It would also create rigid repair thresholds that increase disputes over valuation and repair estimates, slowing claims processing and harming customer experience. 

“Mandated repairs that are economically inefficient also increase the expenses associated with paying claims, which could drive up insurance costs for South Dakota drivers,” the statement says.

APCIA also claims that the bill would weaken anti-fraud protections by limiting appropriate total loss determinations, allowing improperly repaired vehicles to re-enter the market, and increasing opportunities for abuse. 

Insurance Business notes that the proposed 75% figure is not unusual. 

“World Population Review data shows 15 states already apply the same benchmark, making it the most common fixed threshold in the country,” Insurance Business reports. “Thresholds elsewhere range from 50% in Nevada to 100% in Texas and Colorado.”

During a Senate Transportation Committee hearing, Kolbeck said it is entirely up to the insurance carrier to decide whether a vehicle is a total loss in the state. 

Most insurance companies don’t declare a total loss if the damages don’t meet at least 75%, he said. 

“However, national insurance companies have started declaring vehicles total loss at less than 75% damaged,” he said. 

The bill intends to give some control back to the vehicle owner, he said.

Insurance Business also pointed to CCC data through April 2025, which shows loss frequency reached record levels with 22.6% of all claims declared a total loss, up 0.9% year over year.

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