Vehicle Glass Repair Procedures

2025-2026 Bill 767: Vehicle Glass Repair Procedures - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 767
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Ott
Document Path: SMIN-0097MW26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Banking and Insurance
Summary: Vehicle Glass Repair Procedures
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/13/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 46
)

1/13/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Banking and Insurance
(
Senate Journal-page 46
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/13/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION
38-57-75
, RELATING TO VEHICLE GLASS REPAIR PROCEDURES, SO AS TO ADD
DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO VEHICLE GLASS REPAIR FACILITIES, RATES, CONDITIONS,
AND AFFILIATIONS; TO PROHIBIT STEERING; TO REQUIRE DISCLOSURES; TO REGULATE
INSURER AND THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATOR PRACTICES; TO ESTABLISH REIMBURSEMENT
STANDARDS FOR VEHICLE GLASS REPAIR AND ADAS RECALIBRATION; TO REQUIRE FACILITY
ACCREDITATION; TO PROVIDE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE;
TO IMPOSE PENALTIES AND FEES; AND TO CREATE PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
38-57-75
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
38-57-75
.
(
A) As used in this section:

(
1) "Independent Repair Facilities"
means facilities identified through publicly available repositories, including,
but not limited to, those maintained by the Automotive Glass Safety Council,
Independent Glass Association, or the South Carolina Secretary of State's
business registry and not solely from insurer or third-party administrator
data.

(
2) "Prevailing Competitive Market
Rates" means the typical prices charged by a representative cross-section of
independent and affiliated automotive glass repair, replacement, and
recalibration facilities operating within a defined geographic service area in
South Carolina, for substantially similar services performed under similar
conditions. These rates must be based on actual retail market data and not
dictated solely by an insurer, third-party administrator, or affiliated entity.

(
3) "Local Market Conditions" means
objective, verifiable factors that impact the cost of providing automotive
glass services within a geographic area of South Carolina.

(
4) "Affiliation" means any direct or
indirect ownership interest, shared management, shared branding, contractual
control, or other arrangement that creates a financial or operational
relationship between an insurer, third-party administrator, and a vehicle glass
repair facility.

(
5) "Department" means the Department
of Insurance.

(A)
(
B)
When an insured has
suffered damage to the glass of a motor vehicle, "vehicle glass", both the
insurer providing glass coverage and the
third party
third-party
administrator that administers glass coverage
for that insurer
must

may
not
require that repairs
, replacement, or calibration of
automobile safety glass
be made
to the insured's
vehicle by

at
a particular
facility, whether directly or indirectly affiliated with the
insurer or administrator
provider of glass repair
work
.

(
B)

In processing a vehicle glass claim, a third party
administrator must immediately disclose to the insured that the third party
administrator is acting on behalf of the insurer.

(
C) When a claim for motor vehicle
glass repair, replacement, or advanced driver assistance system (ADAS)
recalibration is reported to an insurer, the insurer or its third-party
administrator must clearly disclose:

(
1) the insured's right to select any
licensed repair facility;

(
2) whether the entity handling the
claim is a third-party administrator and not the insurer; and

(
3) whether the recommended facility
has any ownership or financial affiliation with the insurer or third-party
administrator.

(C)
(
D)
Immediately after verification of coverage and
evaluation of the damage, an insurer or
third party
third-party
administrator must ascertain whether an
insured has a provider of choice.
An insurer or
third-party administrator:

(
1) may not misrepresent that choosing
a non-network facility will cause claim delays, reduced coverage, or loss of
warranty;

(
2) shall provide a list of accredited shops
that must include all known independent repair facilities located within the
insured's service area; or

(
3) may not prioritize affiliated
facilities through scripts, automated call handling or electronic systems.

(D)
(
E)
When an insured requests to have covered glass repair
work performed by a specific provider of choice,
the
insurer or third party administrator must determine whether the selected shop
is a member of the insurer's or third party administrator's vehicle glass
repair program or preferred provider list. If the provider of choice is a
member of the insurer's vehicle repair program or preferred provider network,

the insurer or its
third party
third-party

administrator must assign the claim and provide a claim or reference number at
that time to the provider of choice.

(E)
(
F)
When an insured requests to have covered glass repair
work performed by a provider who is not a member of the insurer's or
third party
third-party

administrator's vehicle repair program or preferred provider list, the insurer
or
third party
third-party

administrator:

(
1)

must confirm that the provider agrees to perform the
repair at the insurer's fair and reasonable rate of reimbursement. If the
provider refuses to accept the rate, the insurer or third party administrator
may inform the insured that he will be responsible for additional costs. If the
provider agrees to accept the fair and reasonable rates, no further statements
regarding costs shall occur and the provider must be paid the agreed fair and
reasonable rate of reimbursement;
Shall provide
reimbursement for glass repair, replacement, and recalibration services that
reflects prevailing competitive market rates and may not be set solely by the
insurer, a third-party administrator or any affiliated entity.

(
a) Reimbursement shall not be tied
exclusively to a single pricing benchmark, including but not limited to the
National Auto Glass Specifications list price, unless adjusted to reflect
actual prevailing market rates in South Carolina.

(
b) Any use of pricing benchmarks must
be accompanied by a transparent methodology demonstrating alignment with
prevailing local market conditions.

(
c) Reimbursement frameworks must be
fair, transparent, and negotiated in good faith with independent repair
facilities. Insurers and third-party administrators shall publish reimbursement
methodologies upon request to ensure accountability and prevent unilateral
rate-setting.

(
d) Prevailing competitive market rates
may be established using one or more of the following:

(
i) Independent surveys of retail
transaction prices charged by a representative rage of providers in the
geographic area;

(
ii) Review of anonymized claims
reimbursements data submitted to or obtained by the Department;

(
iii) Adjusted use of pricing
benchmarks, provided such benchmarks are localized and account for actual
prevailing local market conditions; and

(
iv) Inclusion of all known
independent repair facilities identified through public registries maintained
by industry associations or state agencies, and not solely through insurer or
TPA-controlled databases.

(
e) Local market conditions include but
are not limited to:

(
i) Prevailing wages and benefits for
certified automotive technicians;

(
ii) Wholesale prices and availability
of OEM an aftermarket glass and related components;

(
iii) Expenses related to ADAS
recalibration equipment, tools, software, and training;

(
iv) Overhead costs such as rent,
utilities, insurance, and regulatory compliance;

(
v) Geographic variations in urban,
suburban, and rural areas; and

(
vi) Actual retail transaction prices
charged to consumers by a cross-section of providers, excluding insurer of
TPA-imposed discounts or proprietary schedules.

(
2)
must inform the insured that he or she may use the requested provider of
choice;
and

(
3)
must not make statements regarding the warranty offered by the provider of
choice. If an insured asks the insurer or
third party
third-party
administrator questions regarding a
provider's warranty, the insurer or
third party
third-party
administrator must refer the insured to the
provider for clarification
.
;
and

(
4) whenever glass replacement requires
advanced driver assistance system recalibration, coverage must include
reimbursement for recalibration performed in accordance with OEM
specifications.

(F)
(
G)
When an insured does not request
to have covered glass repair work performed by a specific provider of choice,
the insurer or third party administrator may refer the repair to a vehicle
glass repairer who is a member of the insurer's or third party administrator's
preferred network of providers.
If an insurer or
third party administrator provides a list of accredited facilities, then the
list must include all known independent network and non-network repair
facilities located within the insured's service area. All recommendations must
include clear disclosure of whether a recommended shop is owned, managed, or
affiliated with an insurer, third-party administrator, or any subsidiary
thereof.

(G)
(
H)
A vehicle glass repair or replacement facility,
including any agent, contractor, vendor, representative, or anyone acting on
its behalf, must not:

(
1)
threaten, coerce, or intimidate an insured to file a claim for vehicle glass
repair or replacement;

(
2)
engage in unfair or deceptive practices to induce an insured to file a vehicle
glass repair claim;

(
3)
induce an insured to file a vehicle glass repair claim when the damage to the
vehicle glass is insufficient to warrant vehicle glass repair or replacement;

(
4)
perform vehicle glass repair or replacement services under an insurance policy
without first obtaining insurer approval;

(
5)
make any representations to an insured as to the vehicle glass coverage
available under the insurance policy, including, but not limited to,
representations that the insured is entitled to a free windshield;

or

(
6)
represent verbally, electronically, or in any other way, including, but not
limited to, advertisements, websites, or any marketing materials that a claim
for a windshield replacement under an insurance policy is free.

(H)
(
I)
The owner, lessee, or insured driver of the vehicle,
or the designee of the owner, lessee, or insured driver of the vehicle, if any,
must be party to the filing of a vehicle glass repair claim, otherwise known as
first notice of loss. A provider of vehicle glass repair services may not serve
as the designee for the insured.

(I)
(
J)
When an insurer or third party administrator
determines that an insured's requested glass repair must be physically
inspected, and the inspection is carried out by a representative of a third
party administrator, that representative must not make any offer to make
repairs, engage in any discussion of other glass repair facilities, or
recommend any glass repair facility during the course of the inspection.

(J)
(
K)
An insurer, agent, or
third party
third-party
administrator only may provide information
about a claim to a vehicle glass repairer after the insured has selected that
repairer to provide glass services.

(K)
(
L)
The provisions of this section
do
not
apply to insurers
or

third party
and third-party

administrators
,

who do not
have a ten percent or greater ownership interest in a vehicle glass repair
business
of ownership interest, management control,
or affiliation with a vehicle glass repair business
.

(L)
(
M)
Violations of this section are subject to the
provisions of the South Carolina Insurance Unfair Claim Practices Act
and the Title 39, Chapters 3 and 5 of the South Carolina Unfair
Trade Practices Act
.

(M)
(
N)
Notwithstanding the provisions of
this chapter, the insurer has the right to inform the insured that the insurer
will not guarantee the work performed by a provider that is not in the network
of the insurer or third party administrator.
An
insurer may disclose the scope of any warranty or guarantee it offers on
repairs performed through its preferred network. However, such disclosure must
be made in a factual and non-disparaging manner and may not be used to
discourage or dissuade an insured from selecting a non-network or independent
provider.

(
O) No person, business, or facility
may perform automobile glass repair, replacement, or advanced driver assistance
system recalibration on an insured vehicle for reimbursement under an
automobile insurance policy unless the facility is accredited under nationally
recognized safety standards, including but not limited to ANSI, AGSC, AGRSS
005-2022, or an equivalent accreditation recognized by the Automotive Glass
Safety Council or Independent Glass Association. Proof of current accreditation
shall be maintained on file and made available upon request by the Department.

(
P) Any person deemed violating the
provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction:

(
1) for a first offense, fined not less
than one hundred dollars but not more than five hundred dollars;

(
2) for a second offense, a fine of not
less than two thousand dollars but not more than five thousand dollars;

(
3) for a third or subsequent offense,
less than ten thousand dollars.

(
Q) The Department shall establish and
maintain a compliance and audit program to monitor insurer and third-party
administrator practices under this section. Independent automotive glass repair
facilities shall have the right to submit evidence of violations, and the
Department shall issue annual public reports on enforcement actions taken.

(
R)
(
1) Each insurer and third-party
administrator engaged in the administration of motor vehicle glass claims in
this State shall pay an annual compliance fee of not more than five hundred
dollars per calendar year, accessed and collected by the Department.

(
2) Fees collected shall be deposited
into a dedicated Automobile Glass Enforcement Fund and used exclusively to
support compliance monitoring, accreditation verification, and consumer
protection under this section.

(
3) The Department is authorized to set
fees by regulation, at a level sufficient to cover the reasonable costs of
administration and enforcement.

(
S) In addition to any criminal
penalties, individuals who knowingly direct, authorize, or carry out violations
of this section on behalf of an insurer or third-party administrator may be
held personally liable and subject to civil litigation.

(
T) Any insured or claimant who suffers
actual damages as a result of a violation of this section, including, but not
limited to, steering, misrepresentation, denial of coverage, or reimbursement
practices that substantially lessen competition shall have a private right of
action against the insurer, third-party administrator, or repair facility that
committed the violation.

(
U) If the plaintiff in a civil action
brought pursuant to this section prevails by proving, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that the defendant violated, or attempted to violate a provision of
this section, then the court shall award statutory damages of not less than two
thousand five hundred dollars for each violation in addition to:

(
1) actual damages;

(
2) reasonable attorney's fees and
court costs; and

(
3) treble damages where willful
misconduct is proven.

(
V) Nothing in this section shall be
construed to impose liability on an insurer for the workmanship of an
unaffiliated provider selected by the insurer.

(
W) Nothing in this section prevents an
insured from selecting a non-accredited provider at their own expense. However,
insurers and third-party administrators are only obligated to reimburse for
work performed by accredited facilities.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 12:28 PM