Unprecedented Harmony at the ADALB Roundtable

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

As the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB) met for the first time in the Division of Insurance’s (DOI) new location at One Federal Street on the 7th floor on March 25, Board members and other participants gathered in a roundtable format that offered a connotation of equality and comradery – and this particular meeting offered more of that than any ADALB meeting in recent memory, possibly due to the lack of contentious items that were actually discussed.

Board member Peter Smith (MAPFRE) proposed changes to the current procedures for filing applications for a motor vehicle damage appraiser license. Namely, he suggested omitting the requirement to obtain three individuals’ signatures to attest to the applicant’s trustworthiness and competence as well as to require all applications be submitted online. A motion to remove the signature requirement received a unanimous vote, as did the motion to move to an online application process. 

Review of the submitted curriculum for an auto damage appraisal class to be conducted at the night school program of the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fitchburg yielded another unanimous decision, although Board member Carl Garcia (Carl’s Collision Center; Fall River) observed that the syllabus focuses on laws and regulations for nine weeks and only spends the final week on writing appraisals. He suggested the ADALB consider facilitating a workshop for the instructors of these programs at some point. Smith pointed out that the class is merely the appraisal course and does not account for the work experience which is still required for attendees.

The Board’s review of the proposed advisory ruling regarding time frames specified in 212 CMR 2.00 as it relates to completed appraisal and supplements also received a unanimous vote of approval. In response to AASP/MA Executive Director Lucky Papageorg’s suggestion to include verbiage related to the requirement for a written acknowledgement when an extension is granted, Board member Bill Johnson (Pleasant Street Auto; South Hadley/Belchertown) suggested that AASP/MA draft an advisory ruling related to the concerns raised to be reviewed by the ADALB at a future meeting. 

A brief discussion of the Auto Body Labor Rate Advisory Board (ABLRAB) created under Governor Healey’s “Mass Leads Act” Section 292 of Chapter 238 of the acts of 2024 followed with Attorney Michael Powers indicating that 13 members had been appointed with one seat remaining. He also explained that the ABLRAB plans to hold a public meeting during the first week of June to gather testimony from the public on both sides. Additionally, they will be distributing a questionnaire to be sent to insurers and body shops which will ask “various information about their costs and what their labor rates are that they charge on both sides of the business.” The ABLRAB is tasked with analyzing that data and filing a report with recommendations by December.

The final item on the ADALB’s agenda was the review of proposed amendments to 212 CMR 2.00 et. seq., but since Smith was still reconciling updates based on the last discussion, he asked to carry the topic over to the next meeting. 

The ADALB is scheduled to reconvene on May 13 at 10am. Information pertaining to the ADALB’s meeting schedule and planned agenda is typically posted by the Friday prior to the meeting at bit.ly/ADALBagendas. 

AASP/MA members are strongly encouraged to listen to the recording of the March 25 meeting in the Members Only section of aaspma.org for a glimpse into the inner workings of the ADALB. View the meeting agenda at bit.ly/ADALB032525. More detailed coverage of this meeting appears in the April issue of Damage Report, AASP/MA’s members-only newsletter.

Want more? Check out the May 2025 issue of New England Automotive Report!