Massachusetts licensing board issues ruling as reminder of completed appraisal timeframes

A new advisory ruling from the Massachusetts Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB) reminds appraisers of the timeframes under state regulations for original, supplemental, and expedited supplemental appraisals.

For original appraisals, appraisers have five business days to submit the completed document, or at the discretion of the repair shop. Supplemental appraisals must be completed within three business days, and expedited supplemental appraisals within two business days.

“It’s unfortunate we have to keep on saying what the rules are,” said William Johnson, an auto body repair representative on the board. “It’s like you got a kid and you got to tell him to clean his room up every Friday. That’s the way I feel [with] a lot of these appraisers. We shouldn’t have to be doing these advisory rulings.”

Johnson added that shops should keep in mind that the vehicles in their shops that are there for repairs are under possessory liens, so they don’t have to be released until supplements are approved and received, and/or they know they will be paid for their work.

“A lot of the shops create their own issues by just releasing the car,” he said.

Johnson and ADALB member Carl Garcia, who is also on the board to represent auto body repairers, noted insurance companies that were previously taking 14-15 days on appraisals are starting to “get a lot better.”

The ruling allows for a “reasonable extension of time” for completed original appraisal or supplemental requests “when intervening circumstances such as the need for preliminary repairs, severe illness, failure of the parties other than the insurer to communicate or cooperate, or extreme weather conditions make timely inspection of the vehicle and completion of the appraisal impossible,” according to the ruling.

Failure to comply with the ruling could result in fines and penalties under Massachusetts state law.

Images

Featured image: