Sec. 38a-790. (Formerly Sec. 38-92b). Licensing of motor vehicle physical damage appraisers. Penalty.
Sec. 38a-790. (Formerly Sec. 38-92b). Licensing of motor vehicle physical
damage appraisers. Penalty. (a) No person shall act as an appraiser for motor vehicle
physical damage claims on behalf of any insurance company or firm or corporation
engaged in the adjustment or appraisal of motor vehicle claims unless such person has
first secured a license from the Insurance Commissioner, and has paid the license fee
specified in section 38a-11, for each two-year period or fraction thereof. The license
shall be applied for as provided in section 38a-769. The commissioner may waive the
requirement for examination in the case of any applicant for a motor vehicle physical
damage appraiser's license who is a nonresident of this state and who holds an equivalent
license from any other state. Any such license issued by the commissioner shall be in
force until the thirtieth day of June in each odd-numbered year unless sooner revoked
or suspended. The license may, in the discretion of the commissioner, be renewed biennially upon payment of the fee specified in section 38a-11. The commissioner may adopt
reasonable regulations concerning standards for qualification, suspension or revocation
of such licenses and the methods by which licensees shall conduct their business.
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be fined not more
than two thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
(c) Any person who has been engaged in the business of motor vehicle physical
damage appraising for a period of two consecutive years immediately prior to July 1,
1968, shall be granted a license upon application with no further qualifications. The
commissioner may waive the examination required under section 38a-769, in the case
of an applicant who at any time within two years next preceding the date of application
has been licensed in this state under a license of the same type as the license applied for.
(d) For purposes of this section and section 38a-769:
(1) "Motor vehicle" is defined as provided in section 14-1;
(2) "Motor vehicle physical damage appraiser" means any person, partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation which practices as a business the
appraising of damages to motor vehicles insured under automobile physical damage
policies or on behalf of third party claimants.
(1967, P.A. 526, S. 1, 2; 1969, P.A. 489; P.A. 77-614, S. 163, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 290, 348; P.A. 82-96, S. 3, 8; P.A.
90-243, S. 40; P.A. 95-79, S. 148, 189; P.A. 98-98, S. 6; P.A. 99-45, S. 5; P.A. 04-217, S. 32; P.A. 08-178, S. 37.)
History: 1969 act raised license fee from $10 to $20 and added provisions re examination and examination fee; P.A.
77-614 placed insurance commissioner within the department of business regulation and made the insurance department
a division of said department, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 restored insurance commissioner and division to
prior independent status and abolished the department of business regulation; P.A. 82-96 amended Subsec. (a) to require
biennial rather than annual renewal for motor vehicle physical damage appraisers' licenses and accordingly doubled the
license fee, effective June 1, 1983; P.A. 90-243 in Subsec. (a) made technical changes re licensing requirement by enumerating the section numbers for licensure and fees, added a new Subsec. (b) and renumbered the remaining Subsecs., added a
provision allowing the insurance commissioner, in his discretion, to waive the examination requirement if the applicant
has previously had a license of the same type and added definitions for "motor vehicle" and "motor vehicle physical
damage appraiser"; Sec. 38-92b transferred to Sec. 38a-790 in 1991; P.A. 95-79 redefined "motor vehicle physical damage
appraiser" to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 98-98 amended Subsec. (a) to allow the
commissioner to waive the examination requirement for nonresident applicants licensed in another state; P.A. 99-45
amended Subsec. (a) to substitute, re granting a license if nonresident applicant holds an equivalent license, "from any
other state" for "from the state in which the applicant resides"; P.A. 04-217 amended Subsec. (d)(1) to eliminate reference
to Sec. 14-1(30), effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 08-178 increased maximum fine from $500 to $2,500 and made a technical
change in Subsec. (b).
See Sec. 38a-354 re prohibition against designating where repairs are or are not to be made.