An Act relative to the calculation of labor rates paid by insurance companies to auto repairers in the Commonwealth

This bill establishes a new process for setting minimum hourly labor rates that Massachusetts auto insurance companies must pay registered repair shops. Repair shops calculate their own average hourly rate using 100 sequential customer-paid collision repair orders (or 60 consecutive days of such orders), which insurers must then pay within 30 days, subject to limited audit and appeal rights. The bill explicitly excludes these repair rates from cost-control calculations under other insurance regulations. It directly affects auto repair shops and insurers by creating a standardized, shop-determined rate calculation method rather than using industry averages.