Rule changes on record
New state laws, regulations and court rulings that change how a car insurance claim is handled, each dated, explained and linked to the official text.
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State rule
Texas adopts appraisal rules for personal auto policies from March 1, 2027
The Texas Department of Insurance adopted 28 TAC §§5.9800–5.9806 (Commissioner's Order No. 2026-10210, issued November 6, 2026) to carry out Senate Bill 458 of 2025, which added Insurance Code Chapter 1813 on appraisal of disputed losses. The rules apply to personal auto and residential property policies delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or after March 1, 2027. Either side may demand appraisal in writing, generally before the policy's time limit for suing runs out; each side names an appraiser within 20 days of the demand; and on an auto claim the appraisers try to agree within 40 days, with an award involving the umpire due within 180 days of the demand. Appraisal decides only the amount of loss. The insurer must explain the process in a plain-language notice sent with its decision on the claim. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is not included.
What it means for a claim: Once your Texas auto policy is issued or renewed on or after March 1, 2027, you or the insurer can demand appraisal of a dispute over the amount of a car damage claim, with set deadlines for each step.
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Regulation
Washington rewrites its claim-handling deadlines for insurers
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner's rule R 2025-05 (WSR 26-17-089, filed August 18, 2026) took effect October 18, 2026. Under the amended WAC 284-30-360 to 284-30-391, an insurer must acknowledge a claim within 10 business days, and accept or deny it within 30 calendar days after notice of the claim, then write every 30 days while it stays open. The earlier rule counted 15 working days from proof of loss.
What it means for a claim: On a Washington claim made since October 18, 2026, the insurer's clock to decide starts when it learns of the claim, not when it has every document.
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State law
Illinois will require a right to appraisal in auto policies from July 1, 2027
House Bill 4160, signed August 7, 2026 as Public Act 104-0767, requires Illinois auto policies with first-party physical damage coverage that are issued, renewed or delivered on or after July 1, 2027 to let the insured invoke appraisal of a dispute over the amount of a loss, without the insurer's consent. Each side picks an appraiser within 7 business days of a written demand; if the appraisers can't agree on an umpire within 15 business days, either side can ask a court to name one. Each side pays its own appraiser and they split the umpire's cost. Some policies already include an appraisal clause.
What it means for a claim: From mid-2027, Illinois drivers who disagree with a damage or total loss figure can use appraisal instead of going to court.
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State law
Rhode Island raises its total loss threshold again, to 85% of fair market value
House Bill 7866 and Senate Bill 3115 of 2026, enacted June 26, 2026 as Chapters 287 and 286 of the 2026 Public Laws and effective on passage, amended R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-9.1-4 again. The repair-cost line below which an insurer may not declare a car a total loss rises from 80% to 85% of its pre-accident fair market value, and the owner may choose a total loss when repairs cost 75% or more but less than 85%.
What it means for a claim: In Rhode Island, a car whose repairs cost less than 85% of its value is generally repaired unless you ask for it to be totaled.
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State law
Washington drops the notary requirement for signing a totaled car over to the insurer
House Bill 2604 (Chapter 101, Laws of 2026), signed March 18, 2026 and effective June 11, 2026, amended RCW 46.12.600. Documents that transfer a car to the insurer after it pays a total loss no longer need to be notarized and can be signed electronically, and the Department of Licensing must accept a limited power of attorney signed only for that transfer. The insurer must still report the total loss to the department within 15 days after the claim settles.
What it means for a claim: In Washington, closing out a total loss and handing over the title should take fewer trips and less paperwork.
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State law
New York bars injury suits by a driver who is more at fault and narrows the serious injury test
Part EE of Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026, signed May 26, 2026 and effective that day for actions commenced on or after it, added CPLR § 1411(b): in personal injury suits covered by the no-fault law, a claimant whose fault is greater than that of the people sued, combined, can't recover. It also removed the temporary-injury category (90 of the first 180 days) from the serious injury definition in Insurance Law § 5102(d), and capped non-economic damages at $100,000 for an at-fault injured person who was driving uninsured (a lapse under 30 days excepted), was convicted of impaired driving, or was committing or fleeing a felony, except in death cases.
What it means for a claim: In New York, if you were mostly to blame for a crash, a suit for your injuries filed now can fail entirely; other claims, such as car damage, still follow pure comparative fault.
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Court ruling
West Virginia Supreme Court: a late police report doesn't automatically defeat a hit-and-run UM claim
In Dobbins v. West Virginia National Auto Insurance Co. (No. 24-362, filed May 21, 2026), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that because the policy denied coverage for a missed duty only if the failure was prejudicial to the insurer, the insurer had to prove prejudice from the insureds' failure to report a hit-and-run to police within 24 hours. The insurer showed none, so the denial could not stand. The court decided the case on the policy wording, not on the 24-hour reporting requirement in W. Va. Code § 33-6-31(e)(1).
What it means for a claim: In West Virginia, still report a hit-and-run to the police within 24 hours; if you were late, ask whether your policy and state law require the insurer to show it was harmed by the delay.
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State law
Louisiana switches from pure to modified comparative fault, with a 51% bar
House Bill 431 of the 2025 Regular Session, signed May 28, 2025 as Act 15, amended Civil Code Article 2323 effective January 1, 2026. A person whose own fault is 51% or more can no longer recover damages; below 51%, damages are reduced by the person's share of fault. Juries must be told how the rule works, and fault is assigned to everyone who contributed to the harm, whether or not they are a party to the case.
What it means for a claim: In a Louisiana crash, being found mostly at fault now ends your claim against the other driver instead of only reducing it.
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State law
New Jersey's standard policy minimums rise to $35,000/$70,000 for injuries
Under P.L.2022, c.87, standard auto policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 must carry at least $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident for bodily injury liability, up from $25,000 and $50,000; the $25,000 property damage minimum is unchanged. The Department of Banking and Insurance's Bulletin 25-06 (July 31, 2025) notes the law also raised uninsured and underinsured motorist limits, and that the basic policy is not affected.
What it means for a claim: If you are hurt by a New Jersey driver with a standard policy, more liability coverage is available for your injury claim.
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State law
Louisiana's "no pay, no play" bar rises to the first $100,000 of injury and of property damage
Act 16 of the 2025 Regular Session (House Bill 434, signed May 28, 2025 and effective August 1, 2025) amended La. R.S. 32:866. A Louisiana owner or driver who did not carry the required liability insurance cannot recover the first $100,000 of bodily injury damages or the first $100,000 of property damage from the other driver, and an uninsured owner who sues and is awarded $100,000 or less in bodily injury damages pays all parties' court costs.
What it means for a claim: In Louisiana, letting your liability insurance lapse can cost you most or all of what you could otherwise recover after a crash someone else caused.
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State law
Washington requires a right to appraisal in auto policies issued or renewed from January 1, 2026
Senate Bill 5721 (Chapter 394, Laws of 2025), signed May 20, 2025 and effective July 27, 2025, requires every auto policy with first-party physical damage coverage issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 to include an appraisal clause for disputes over a damaged car's actual cash value and the amount of loss. Either side can demand appraisal in writing; each picks an appraiser within 10 days, appraisals are due within 30 days, the insurance commissioner can name an umpire if the appraisers don't agree on one within 15 days, and the parties split the umpire's cost.
What it means for a claim: Washington drivers who disagree with their insurer's valuation of their car have a set process to resolve it without going to court.
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State law
Rhode Island raises its total loss threshold from 75% to 80% of fair market value
Senate Bill 902 (Substitute A) and House Bill 6053 (Substitute A), enacted as Chapters 472 and 473 of the 2025 Public Laws and effective on passage July 5, 2025, amended the state's unfair claims settlement practices law (R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-9.1-4). The repair-cost line below which an insurer may not declare a car a total loss rose from 75% to 80% of its pre-accident fair market value; between 75% and 80% the owner may choose a total loss.
What it means for a claim: In Rhode Island, more damaged cars must be offered repair instead of being totaled.
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State law
North Carolina raises minimum liability limits to 50/100/50 and adds UIM to every policy
For policies written or renewed on or after July 1, 2025 (S.L. 2023-133, as amended by S.L. 2024-29), North Carolina's minimum liability limits rose from $30,000/$60,000/$25,000 to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for injuries and $50,000 for property damage. Underinsured motorist coverage is now included in all new and renewed policies, a vehicle's underinsured status depends on the claimant's total damages, and UIM benefits can't be reduced by a credit for the at-fault driver's liability payment, except for workers' compensation as the statute provides.
What it means for a claim: After a crash in North Carolina, more money is available from the at-fault driver's policy and from your own UIM coverage when their limits run out.
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Federal rule
NHTSA's revised crash reporting order for automated and driver-assist cars takes effect
The third amended Standing General Order, issued April 24, 2025, took effect June 16, 2025. Manufacturers and operators must report crashes in which an automated driving system or a Level 2 driver-assistance system was in use within 30 seconds of the crash and the crash meets set criteria, such as a fatality, an air bag deployment, a struck pedestrian or cyclist, or a hospital transport. The most severe crashes are due within five days; others are reported monthly.
What it means for a claim: The reports go to NHTSA, not to your insurer, so after a crash involving these systems you still report it to the police and your insurer as usual.