Revision: Jan. 24, 2017, 10:41 a.m.
SB 28 - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0893
03/01
SENATE BILL 28
AN ACT relative to salvage certificates of titles for motor vehicles.
SPONSORS: Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19
COMMITTEE: Transportation
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This bill authorizes the issuance of a salvage certificate of title for a vehicle under specified conditions after a total loss payment has been made or denied.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0893
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to salvage certificates of titles for motor vehicles.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraphs; Salvage Certificate of Title. Amend RSA 261:22 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraphs:
II-a. With respect to a vehicle, other than an exempt vehicle as provided in RSA 261:3, which the vehicle owner has not chosen to retain, if an insurance firm or representative thereof is unable to obtain the documents described by RSA 261:22, II(a) or (b) within 30 days of the total loss payment, the insurance firm or representative thereof, at any time thereafter, may apply to the department for a salvage certificate of title in the name of the insurance firm without surrendering the certificate of title or other ownership documentation for the motor vehicle. The application shall be accompanied by evidence that the insurance firm has made a total loss payment for the vehicle, a copy of a written request for the certificate of title sent to the vehicle owner and any known lienholder by the insurance firm or representative thereof, proof that the request was delivered by a nationally-recognized courier service or by certified mail to the last known address of the vehicle owner and any known lienholder, and the required fee of $10. The department shall process the application as provided in RSA 261:22, III, except that the department shall not require submission of the certificate of title or other ownership document for the motor vehicle. A salvage certificate of title issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be issued free and clear of all liens.
II-b. If an insurance firm or representative thereof requests that an auto wholesale dealer take possession of a motor vehicle, other than an exempt vehicle as provided in RSA 261:3, that is the subject of an insurance claim, and subsequently the insurance firm denies coverage with respect to the motor vehicle or otherwise does not take ownership of the motor vehicle, the auto wholesale dealer may proceed in accordance with this paragraph. At any time after the auto wholesale dealer has had possession of the motor vehicle for 45 days, it may apply to the department for a salvage certificate of title without surrendering the certificate of title or other ownership documentation for the motor vehicle. The application shall be accompanied by a copy of a written request, on the auto wholesale dealer's letterhead, requesting that, upon payment of applicable charges, the vehicle be removed from the auto wholesale dealer's facility, proof that the request was delivered by a nationally-recognized courier service or by certified mail to the last known address of the vehicle owner and any known lienholder at least 15 days before the date of the application, and the required fee of $10. The department shall process the application as provided in RSA 261:22, III, except that the department shall not require submission of the certificate of title or other ownership document for the motor vehicle. A salvage certificate of title issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be issued free and clear of all liens.
II-c. An applicant under RSA 261:22, II-a or RSA 261:22, II-b shall indemnify and hold harmless the department from any liability arising from an error or misrepresentation made by such applicant in a submission to the department pursuant to RSA 261:22, II-a or RSA 261:22, II-b.