ASSEMBLY, No. 1081

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman CORODEMUS and Assemblywoman J. SMITH

An Act concerning salvage motor vehicles and supplementing chapter 33A of Title 17 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. a. Any vehicle being sold as salvage by the insurance company which provided collision or comprehensive coverage under an automobile insurance policy shall have an employee, appraiser or adjuster of that company compile a list of motor vehicle component parts on that vehicle at the time the vehicle is determined to be a salvage vehicle. The parts shall be identified on the list in the manner in which the parts are required to be identified by section 2 of P.L.1983, c.368 (C.39:10B-2).

    b. As used in this act, "component parts" mean:

    The engine; transmission or transaxle; front and rear bumpers, each fender; hood or engine cover; each door; each quarter panel; decklid, tailgate or hatchback (whichever is present); roof (including T-tops/removal roof if present); cowl; frame; shock tower or apron; and

    Assembled items: Nose (fenders, hood, bumper, radiator support); front clip (cowl, frame section, shock and apron structure); rear clip (rear sheet metal, frame section, roof), short clip (rear clip without roof); and

    The seats, air conditioning system; seats, wheels; wheel covers; tires; battery; trim, radio; tape deck; citizen's band radio; telephone, and speakers.

    c. The list compiled pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be affixed to the inside of a window of that vehicle or if there is no glass in any of the vehicle's windows, to a conspicuous place on the vehicle where it will be protected from inclement weather but where it will be readily visible. A copy of the list shall be retained by the insurance company for a period of not less than one year and shall be available for inspection during the company's normal business hours by the Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Department of Insurance.

    d. A vehicle which does not have affixed to it the list required by subsection a. of this section shall not be transported by any person to a place where such salvage vehicles are stored pending sale or transfer to any person, including a dealer in used motor vehicles, motor vehicle salvage or the component parts of motor vehicles of storage, nor shall the operator of such a storage facility accept delivery of a vehicle which does not have affixed the required list. A motor vehicle which does not have affixed to it the list required by subsection a. of this section shall not be sold or transferred by an operator of a salvage vehicle storage facility to any person, including a dealer in used motor vehicles, motor vehicle salvage or the component parts of motor vehicles.

    e. A person transporting an insured motor vehicle which has affixed to it the list required by subsection a. of this section to a place where such salvage vehicles are stored pending sale or transfer to any person, including a dealer in used motor vehicles, motor vehicle salvage or the component parts of motor vehicles, shall sign the list in order to certify that all the motor vehicle component parts on the list are on the vehicle prior to its transport. Upon delivery the operator of the storage facility or the operator's employee or agent who is authorized to inspect such vehicles shall inspect the vehicle in the presence of the transporter to verify whether it contains all the component parts which are on the list. The operator or his employee or agent and the transporter shall sign the list indicating that all the listed parts are on the vehicle and, if not, which parts are missing.

    f. If a motor vehicle component part is found to be missing from the vehicle at the time the vehicle is delivered to the operator of the storage facility, the operator shall inform in writing the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention in the Department of Insurance and the insurance company within five days after the discrepancy between the list and the parts actually on the vehicle is discovered.

    g. When a vehicle with a list affixed to it pursuant to the requirements of subsection a. of this section is sold or in any way transferred by the operator of the storage facility to any person including a dealer in used motor vehicles, motor vehicle salvage or the component parts of motor vehicles, the buyer or transferee shall sign the list of motor vehicle component parts upon taking possession of the vehicle to certify that all the parts are on the vehicle at that time. The person shall sign after being given a reasonable opportunity to physically inspect the vehicle. If during such an inspection, the person discovers a discrepancy between the list and the parts actually on the vehicle, the person shall report the discrepancy in writing to the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention within five days. At the option of the buyer or transferee, the buyer or transferee may request prior to taking possession of a vehicle that a representative of the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention physically inspect that vehicle in order to determine whether the component parts on the list are on the vehicle. Upon such a request, the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention shall ensure that a representative conducts a physical inspection of the vehicle within two full business days after the request.

    h. The Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention shall develop a form which shall be used for the purposes of subsection a. of this section. The form shall designate the places where the signatures of a vehicle transporter and the vehicle buyer or transferee are to be placed pursuant to subsections e. and g. of this section. In addition, the form shall contain instruction on the procedures to be followed and the rights and responsibilities of the various persons as set forth in this bill. Copies of the forms shall be available from the division and the division may charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of printing the forms.

    i. If a person transports to a place of storage for salvage vehicles a motor vehicle which does not have affixed the list of vehicle component parts required by subsection a. of this section or if an operator of such a storage facility accepts such a vehicle, the transporter or the operator, or both, shall be fined $200 for each vehicle which does not have the required list. If an operator of a storage facility sells or transfers a motor vehicle which does not have affixed the list of vehicle component parts required by subsection a. of this section, the operator shall be fined $200 for each vehicle sold or transferred without the required list.

    If a person fails to notify the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention or an insurance company of a discrepancy between the list and the actual parts on a salvage motor vehicle as required by this section, the person shall be fined $50 for each vehicle.

    The fines shall be imposed by the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention and collected pursuant to the provisions of "the penalty enforcement law," N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.

    2. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after enactment.

STATEMENT

    The purpose of this bill is to ensure that the component parts of a vehicle are not removed from the vehicle between the time it is "totaled" in an accident and the time it is sold as a salvage vehicle to a new owner.

    Under this bill, the automobile insurance company which provided collision or comprehensive coverage for a salvage vehicle shall have an employee, appraiser or adjuster for that company compile a list of component parts actually on the vehicle at the time it is deemed to be salvage. The list must be attached to the inside of a window of the vehicle, or if there is no glass in any of the vehicle's windows, to a conspicuous place on the vehicle where it will be protected from inclement weather, but where it will be readily visible.

    A person who transports a vehicle with a list to a place where such vehicles are stored prior to disposal by sale or transfer is to sign the list in order to certify that all the component parts on the list are still on the vehicle at the time it is delivered to the place of storage. The operator of the storage facility, or the presence of an employee or agent authorized to inspect such vehicles, is required to inspect the vehicle to verify that it contains all the component parts which are on the list.

    If a component part is found to be missing from the vehicle at the time the vehicle is delivered to the storage facility, the operator of the facility shall inform, in writing, the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention in the Department of Insurance and the insurance company for which the list was originally prepared within five days after the discrepancy between the list and the parts actually on the vehicle. This requirement to sign the list and to notify the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention of any discrepancy between the list and the parts actually on the vehicle applies also to any person who buys a vehicle from the storage facility.

    The division is to develop a form on which the vehicle component parts will be listed. Copies of the forms will be available from the division and the division may charge a fee to cover the cost of printing the forms.

    Finally, penalties would be imposed by the Division of Insurance Fraud Prevention for a failure to comply with the provisions of this bill.

Requires list of motor vehicle component parts be attached to salvage motor vehicles.