NATIONAL NEWS
NY Parts Bill Takes on Insurer-Mandated Vendors The collision repair industry’s long-standing efforts to prevent insurers from requiring certain parts vendors have taken a major step forward with New York Assembly Bill 6902. Initially filed in 2013, the fifth and current version of the legislation aims to amend Section 1, Subsection (a)
of Section 2610 of the New York insurance law to the following (with the proposed new language in bold): Whenever a motor vehicle collision or comprehensive loss shall have been suffered by an insured, no insurer providing collision or comprehensive coverage therefor shall require that repairs be made to such vehicle in a particular place or shop or by a particular concern, nor require a repair facility to use a specific vendor or process for the procurement of parts or other materials necessary for the repair of a motor vehicle. Sponsored by Representative Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), Assembly Bill 6902 has more than a dozen co-sponsors and is endorsed by the Long Island Auto Body Repairmen’s Association (LIABRA) and the Auto Body Craftsmen’s Guild of New York City. “It’s really just a consumer bill,” Ed Kizenberger, executive director of LIABRA/Auto Body Craftsmen’s Guild of New York City, comments. “In this case, what benefits the consumer benefits the repair industry. You select the repair shop, and they in turn are obviously and totally responsible for the outcome as far as the repair goes. So, to have an insurer interject themselves in the middle of things like parts selection really creates a situation where the repair facility is almost losing control over the type of repair that they may have chosen to do if in fact the insurer is requiring or suggesting a part that the repair shop is not comfortable using.” Assembly Bill 6902 has been referred to the New York Assembly Committee on Insurance. New Jersey Automotive will provide updates on the bill as the legislative session moves forward.
24 | New Jersey Automotive | June 2021
NJA
