N.H. Bill Defines Fair Reimbursement Rate by Insurers for Mechanical Work

April 10, 2018—House Bill 1663 cleared the second half of the New Hampshire General Court on Thursday. The bill defines the fair price required to be reimbursed to a shop by an insurer for mechanical work to “not be lower than that customarily paid to a repair shop or facility in the area that is part of or affiliated with an automobile dealership.”

The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee voted 18-1 in favor of an amendment to rewrite the bill to create the new four-lawmaker labor rate study group.

The four lawmakers must “study reimbursement rates for independent repair shops under New Hampshire automobile insurance policies” and by Nov. 1 “report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation.”

Rep. Dennis Green, R-Hampstead, said that insurers would rather sublet the work to a dealership for $80-$90 an hour, rather than pay the body shop an identical $80-$90 to do the work.

The original bill was prompted by  Green and Lori Nadeau of Birch Street Collision.