A bill that raises Rhode Island's vehicle total loss threshold from 80% to 85% has become law after Gov. Dan McKee allowed it to take effect without his signature. A higher threshold keeps more vehicles with extensive damage in the repairable category rather than diverting them to salvage, directly affecting the volume of work collision repair shops receive.
Senate Bill 3115 amends Rhode Island's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act to raise the point at which an insurer may declare a vehicle a total loss from 80% to 85% of its pre-accident fair market value. Under the law, an insurer cannot declare a vehicle a total loss unless repair costs exceed 85% of the vehicle's fair market value immediately before the accident, according to the bill text.
S3115 marks Rhode Island's second total loss threshold increase in as many years. House Bill 6053 raised the threshold from 75% to 80% in 2025.
Threshold takes effect without governor's signature
The General Assembly transmitted S3115 to McKee's office June 18. He did not sign or veto it within the period allowed under the Rhode Island Constitution, and the bill took effect June 26 as Chapter 286 of the 2026 Public Laws, according to the Rhode Island General Assembly's legislative status system. McKee took the same approach with HB 6053 last year, letting that bill become law without signing it or addressing it directly.
The Rhode Island Governor's Insurance Council had urged McKee to veto S3115 and a companion bill, H7866, arguing the increase would raise repair and insurance costs statewide, according to Rhode Island Current. McKee did not publicly respond to the council's request before the bill took effect.
Rhode Island already maintains one of the more protective collision repair consumer frameworks in the country, according to Auto Body Association of Rhode Island President Randy Bottella, as noted in prior coverage of S3115. Prior to the 2025 increase in the total loss threshold, the Auto Service Association identified Rhode Island as the only state giving consumers any right to demand repair over total loss, that same coverage noted.
CCC Intelligent Solutions' Crash Course 2026 report found that total loss frequency hit a record 23.1% of all U.S. collision claims in 2025. Raising the total loss threshold keeps a larger share of borderline vehicles classified as repairable rather than total losses, a shift that affects the volume of work flowing to collision repair shops.
