                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

UNFAIR CLAIM SETTLEMENT PRACTICES (§ 38.2-510)

A. No person shall commit or perform with such frequency as to indicate a
general business practice any of the following:

   1. Misrepresenting pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to
   coverages at issue;

   2. Failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly upon communications with
   respect to claims arising under insurance policies;

   3. Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt
   investigation of claims arising under insurance policies;

   4. Refusing arbitrarily and unreasonably to pay claims;

   5. Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after
   proof of loss statements have been completed;

   6. Not attempting in good faith to make prompt, fair and equitable settlements
   of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear;

   7. Compelling insureds to institute litigation to recover amounts due under an
   insurance policy by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately
   recovered in actions brought by such insureds;

   8. Attempting to settle claims for less than the amount to which a reasonable
   man would have believed he was entitled by reference to written or printed
   advertising material accompanying or made part of an application;

   9. Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application that was altered
   without notice to, or knowledge or consent of, the insured;

   10. Making claims payments to insureds or beneficiaries not accompanied by a
   statement setting forth the coverage under which payments are being made;

   11. Making known to insureds or claimants a policy of appealing from
   arbitration awards in favor of insureds or claimants for the purpose of
   compelling them to accept settlements or compromises less than the amount
   awarded in arbitration;

   12. Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, a
   claimant, or the physician of either to submit a preliminary claim report and
   then requiring the subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, when
   both contain substantially the same information;

   13. Failing to promptly settle claims where liability has become reasonably
   clear, under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to
   influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage;

   14. Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation of the basis in the
   insurance policy in relation to the facts or applicable law for denial of a
   claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement;

   15. Failing to comply with &#xA7; 38.2-3407.15, or to perform any provider
   contract provision required by that section;

   16. Payment to an insurer or its representative by a repair facility, or
   acceptance by an insurer or its representative from a repair facility,
   directly or indirectly, of any kickback, rebate, commission, thing of value,
   or other consideration in connection with such person&#8217;s appraisal
   service; or

   17. Making appraisals of the cost of repairing a motor vehicle that has been
   damaged as a result of a covered loss unless such appraisal is based upon a
   personal inspection by a representative of the repair facility or a
   representative of the insurer who is making the appraisal. Notwithstanding the
   requirement that an appraisal be based upon a personal inspection, the repair
   facility or the insurer making the appraisal may prepare an initial, which may
   be the final, repair appraisal on a motor vehicle that has been damaged as a
   result of a covered loss either from the representative&#8217;s personal
   inspection of the motor vehicle or from photographs, videos, or electronically
   transmitted digital imagery of the motor vehicle; however, no insurer may
   require an owner of a motor vehicle to submit photographs, videos, or
   electronically transmitted digital imagery as a condition of an appraisal.
   Supplemental repair estimates that become necessary after the repair work has
   been initiated due to discovery of additional damage to the motor vehicle may
   also be made from photographs, videos, or electronically transmitted digital
   imagery of the motor vehicle, provided that in the case of disputed repairs a
   personal inspection is required.

B. No violation of this section shall of itself be deemed to create any cause of
action in favor of any person other than the Commission; but nothing in this
subsection shall impair the right of any person to seek redress at law or equity
for any conduct for which action may be brought.

C. 1. No insurer shall prepare or use an estimate of the cost of automobile
repairs based on the use of an after market part, as defined herein, unless:
			The insurer discloses to the claimant in writing either on the estimate or in
a separate document attached to the estimate the following information:
			&#8220;THIS ESTIMATE HAS BEEN PREPARED BASED ON THE USE OF AUTOMOBILE PARTS
NOT MADE BY THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER. PARTS USED IN THE REPAIR OF YOUR VEHICLE
BY OTHER THAN THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER ARE REQUIRED TO BE AT LEAST EQUAL IN
LIKE KIND AND QUALITY IN TERMS OF FIT, QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE TO THE ORIGINAL
MANUFACTURER PARTS THEY ARE REPLACING.&#8221;

   2. &#8220;After market part&#8221; as used in this section shall mean an
   automobile part which is not made by the original equipment manufacturer and
   which is a sheet metal or plastic part generally constituting the exterior of
   a motor vehicle, including inner and outer panels.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 38.1-52; 1952, c. 317, § 38.1-52.9; 1977, c. 529; 1978,
c. 441; 1979, c. 324; 1980, c. 404; 1986, c. 562; 1988, c. 29; 1999, cc. 709,
739; 2000, c. 187; 2001, c. 335; 2016, cc. 183, 286.