Filed Date: 10/19/1976
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, §
The evaluation of claims by insurance companies regarding damages to motor vehicles does not constitute "diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions" within the meaning of section
This is in response to your request for an opinion of the Attorney General as to whether the evaluation of claims by insurance companies regarding damages to motor vehicles comes within the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Repair Shop Registration Act. More specifically you ask whether such evaluation constitutes "diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions" within the meaning of section
Section
It does not appear that the term "diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions" includes the evaluation of damages to a vehicle. The term "diagnosing" connotes the act of searching for a cause of the malfunction with an eye to remedying it. The simple viewing of a vehicle in order to evaluate the amount of damages resulting from a known cause for the purpose of an insurance claim does not fit the term "diagnosing". Moreover, the statute separates the business of repairing or diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions from the business of repairing vehicle bodies damaged by accident. The evaluation of damages caused by an accident is more closely connected to the latter business of repairing vehicle bodies. Moreover, the evaluation by an insurance company of damages to a vehicle is not included in the business of repairing motor vehicle bodies. Thus, the evaluation by an insurance company of damages to motor vehicles is not included within either business described by the statute.
One type of claims evaluator, the independent adjustor, is required to be licensed by the Insurance Department pursuant to section 123 of the Insurance Law. To require them to be registered under the Motor Vehicle Repair Shop Registration Act would be an unnecessary duplication of requirements.
Therefore, I conclude that the evaluation of claims by insurance companies regarding damages to motor vehicles does not constitute "diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions" within the meaning of section