Iowa raises auto salvage title threshold to 70% of vehicle value
Iowa auto body shops, insurers and policyholders will have more leeway on what constitutes a “totaled” vehicle for purposes of insurance settlements, industry journal Repairer Driven News reported. Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed into law Senate File 230, which raises the threshold for what constitutes a “wrecked or salvaged vehicle.” Previously, the law required the designation of a vehicle as wrecked or salvage when the cost of repair exceeded 50% of the fair market value of the vehicle. The new law raises that threshold to vehicles needing repairs of more than 70% of fair market value. Scott Weiser, a lobbyist for the Iowa Collision Repair Association, said that auto body shops were losing money because of repairable vehicles being totaled. The Iowa Insurance Institute and American Property Casualty Insurance Association supported the bill alongside the ICRA, Weiser said.