Representative Mark Falzone announced that the House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation that will maintain an independent appeals board for consumers to appeal the determination fault for auto accidents. The legislation, approved 157 – 0, comes on the heels of the Division of Insurance reversing their previous decision to do away with the appeals board. The bill would create via statute, a motor vehicle surcharge Board of Appeals. This would ensure that the current Board of Appeals remained an option for any driver to appeal what they believe was a wrongful determination of a surchargeable incident due to an at-fault accident.

Representative Falzone emphasized, “With such a high rate of overturning the determination of fault, it is essential that consumers retain the right to appeal at-fault accident decisions to an impartial board. This is a definite victory for consumers.”

“This is an example of all branches of state government working together in bipartisan fashion to promote good government practices,” Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop) said. “This legislation will provide all consumers involved in automobile insurance disputes the right to an independent appeals process.”

Each year, the Division of Insurance Board of Appeals hears between 40,000 and 50,000 appeals from motorists. Of those, between 45-50% of all appeals are overturned. This accounts for a savings of a minimum of $400 a year for an individual policy holder and thousands of dollars for family policy owners, totaling a cost savings of $25-$40 million for consumers annually.

The bill now heads to the Senate, which previously gave initial passage to the bill, for final consideration.