The Washington Senate passed a right-to-appraisal bill to the House following debate on the floor Friday. 

SB5721 would require insurance policies to include a provision that gives policyholders the right to an appraisal to resolve disputes about the actual cash value and amount of loss on a damaged vehicle.

“As an insurance consumer and customer, I want to know that I’m going to be treated fairly when I make a claim on my insurance,” Sen. Derek Stanford (D-1), sponsor of the bill, said on the floor. “Over the past several years, there’s been an increase in the number of complaints for current insurance claims, usually coming down to an issue where the insurance company is offering a payment and the consumer is facing repair bill that far exceeds the amount of the claim payment.”

Stanford said consumers disputing the claim settlement don’t have many options in the state of Washington. 

“I think it’ll be better to have a more fair dispute resolution process so that these customers and the insurance companies can come to a better agreement about the true cost of repairs,” he said. 

Sen. Perry Dozier (R-16) was the only senator to speak against the bill. 

“I’d like you to know, first of all, many insurers today already have this included in their policies as a mechanism to be able to dispute the differences between the owner of the car and what the insurance company has valued it for and also what the cost of repairs is,” he said.

The state also includes a “robust regulatory framework,” Dozier said. 

Ultimately, the bill will be a cost to insurance companies he said. 

“There’s absolutely no risk for the appraiser or for the shops,” Dozier said. “It all lays on the insurers. Ultimately, this is going to lead to, probably, increased insurance rates. We’ve already seen insurance rates go up dramatically. This is another mechanism that may drive those up.”

The bill passed 29-20. It was moved to the Senate floor after the Washington Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee passed it last month. 

The bill has been passed to the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee, where a companion bill, HB1645, died last month. 

HB1645 was not brought up for discussion or vote before the deadline the committee had to pass it. 

Justin Lewis, president of the Washington Independent Collision Repair Association (WICRA), said Monday the Senate passage is exciting because it is the farthest a right-to-appraisal bill has ever made it in the state. 

“It has traction and has received a lot of involvement,” Lewis said. 

He said there is also concern that the Senate bill is being sent back to the same House committee that failed to pick up its companion. 

“We are going to try a different approach,” Lewis said. “We have a big hurdle to jump through but there is still some light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, we can get enough people to reach out to our legislators, and we can make an impact.” 

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Sen. Derek Stanford (D-1) speaks on the Washington Senate floor about SB5721 on March 7/screenshot.