Bill > S561

This bill aims to reform how insurance companies pay auto repair shops for labor on insured claims by establishing a new minimum hourly labor rate. Specifically, it mandates that insurers must pay at least the average of hourly rates reported by the Mitchell Industry Trends Report, or a similar publication, for motor vehicle damage repairs in neighboring states like Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. If an insurer doesn't use the Mitchell report, they must use the average labor rate they pay in those same states, with the higher of the two figures being the minimum. Insurers will be required to submit their calculations for this rate to the commissioner of the division of insurance every two years. Furthermore, the bill clarifies that these newly established collision repair hourly labor rates will not be considered when insurance programs are evaluated for cost control measures. The commissioner of the division of insurance is given ninety days after the bill becomes law to create regulations for its implementation and enforcement.