California Senate passes NCOIL glass act

A California bill that would prohibit assigning benefits and require vehicle glass repair shops to notify vehicle owners about ADAS repairs has passed the Senate. 

The bill follows the National Council of Insurance Legislators’ model. At least five other states have filed bills this year based on the model including Illinois, Washington, and South Carolina. Louisiana sent its bill to the governor earlier this month and Virginia passed a bill in April.

Last year, New York passed a similar bill in December. Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, and Utah have also passed bills.  

California’s SB 988 passed the Senate May 20 and was read by the Assembly the same day. 

The bill would require shops to provide written notice about whether a calibration was successful. It also would require shops to provide an itemized invoice and receipt upon completion of the repair. 

It would prohibit repair shops from contracting with a person for repair or replacement of damaged vehicle glass that would be paid by a first-party insurance policy until specific conditions are met including that the person has made a first-party claim for the repair or replacement of damaged glass under the policy and that the repair shop has a referral number for the claim. 

Repair shops would be required to provide the insured a good faith estimate of the fees and costs that are anticipated to be charged to the insured by the repair shop. 

Violation of the bill would be punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for the first violation and not to exceed $2,000 for each subsequent violation. 

The Independent Glass Association (IGA) has been vocal about its opposition of SB 988 since it was filed. 

Last week, it posted on Facebook that now is the time for California shops to act regarding the bill. 

“SB 988 has already passed the Senate and is now in the Assembly,” the post states. “That means the next phase of this fight has started, and we cannot wait until a committee hearing is announced to speak up.”

IGA directs shops to submit comments at www.iga.org/california

“SB 988 is being promoted as consumer protection, but as written, it gives insurers, TPAs, and large corporate glass interests more control while leaving independent shops and consumers exposed,” the post states. “California shops cannot afford to sit this out.”

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Photo courtesy of Artem Zakharov/iStock