§ 38.2-517. Unfair settlement practices; replacement and repair; penalty.
A. No person shall:
1. Require an insured or claimant to utilize designated replacement or repair facilities or services, or the products of designated manufacturers, as a prerequisite to settling or paying any claim arising under a policy or policies of insurance;
2. Engage in any act of coercion or intimidation causing or intended to cause an insured or claimant to utilize designated replacement or repair facilities or services, or the products of designated manufacturers, in connection with settling or paying any claim arising under a policy or policies of insurance;
38.2-510. Unfair claim settlement practices.
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; ...
15. Failing to comply with § 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's appraisal service; or
17. Making appraisals of the cost of repairing an automobile that has been damaged as a result of a collision unless such appraisal is based upon a personal inspection by a representative of the repair facility or the insurer who is making the appraisal.
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:
"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."
2. "After market part" 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.
(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.)