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November 21, 2024 Clouds | 45°F
The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Section 191A: Property damage to insured's motor vehicle; notice of losses; arbitration clause

Section 191A. No company shall issue a policy or contract which insures against physical damage to a motor vehicle of the insured unless said policy contains in substance the following provisions:—

In case of any loss or damage insured against under the policy, the named insured shall give notice thereof as soon as practicable to the company or any of its authorized agents and also, in the event of larceny, robbery or pilferage, to the police, and within sixty days after filing proof of loss the company shall pay the amount of loss as provided in the policy.

If the named insured and the company fail to agree as to the amount of loss, each shall, on the written demand of either, made within sixty days after receipt of proof of loss by the company, select a competent and disinterested appraiser, and the appraisal shall be made at a reasonable time and place. The appraisers shall first select a competent and disinterested umpire, and failing for fifteen days to agree upon such umpire, then, on the request of the named insured or the company, such umpire shall be selected by a judge of a court of record in the county and state in which such appraisal is pending. The appraisers shall then appraise the loss, stating separately the actual cash value at the time of loss and the amount of loss, and failing to agree shall submit their differences to the umpire. An award in writing of any two shall determine the amount of loss. The named insured and the company shall each pay his or its chosen appraiser and shall bear equally the other expenses of the appraisal and umpire.

The company shall not be held to have waived any of its rights by any act relating to appraisal.