The Maine Legislature is considering a bill stating that insurers providing rental vehicle reimbursement coverage may not require an insured to use or not use a particular rental vehicle company or rental vehicle company location. It also establishes disclosure requirements when insurers process a claim or write motor vehicle insurance.
The bill defines "rental vehicle reimbursement coverage" as "coverage for the cost of renting a motor vehicle used as substitute transportation until an insured motor vehicle that is damaged and is temporarily out of use due to a covered loss is repaired or is declared a total loss."
The bill requires that during the claims process, insurers must disclose to claimants that they have the right to choose any rental vehicle company they want to use. Insurers must also disclose this when writing vehicle policies including rental reimbursement coverage. For existing policies, the disclosure must be provided in writing to insureds.
