Q: I have received notices from my insurance company asking me to provide proof of a “mandatory photo inspection” for a Honda that was purchased new and delivered to me with 6 miles on the odometer.

I am informed that NYS Insurance Law requires owners of vehicles with comprehensive and collision coverage to provide a “mandatory physical damage insurance inspection” for vehicles that are seven years or newer. I guess I can understand it for the purchase of a used vehicle but not a new one. It seems that the requirement for an inspection could be met at a lower cost with a statement from the dealer.I suspect this law was passed at the behest of the insurance companies. It surely is not to protect the consumer.

- Ralph Miller, Berne

A: Contrary to your suspicions, we didn’t find any fans of this law among insurance agents or regulators.

Matthew Guilbault, director of government and industry affairs for the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State, said his organization supports repeal of the law underlying the regulation, and a spokesman for the state Insurance Department said it’s among regulations that his agency is looking to revise and update.

The regulation dates at least as far back as 1982, said Insurance Department spokesman Andy Mais, and the idea was to prevent insurance fraud.

“Fraud rings were registering cars that did not exist,” he explained. “They were phantom vehicles.”

There already are provisions for alternatives to the photo requirement, Mais said, but it’s up to insurance companies to decide whether to accept them. Companies can accept proof such as a bill of sale or a window sticker, but they need to file a plan with the Insurance Department outlining their procedures.

Usually, insurers give a policyholder five days – or sometimes even eight days – to obtain a mandatory photo inspection, Guilbault said. Failure to obtain an inspection can result in a lapse of physical damage coverage, so it’s not something you want to procrastinate on if your insurance company is demanding it.

Guilbault also noted that insurers may waive the photo inspection if the car is a new, unused vehicle purchased or leased from a franchised dealer and if the insurer is provided with a copy of the bill of sale.

Still, he said, “the regulation is extremely complex and allows for a great deal of inconsistency from insurer to insurer.”

PIANY considers the mandatory photo inspection requirement to be “onerous and unnecessary,” Guilbault said.

Methods for verifying and tracking the existence and physical condition of vehicles have improved greatly since the regulation was enacted.

In the absence of an outright repeal, Guilbault said, PIANY supports state Insurance Department proposals to liberalize the current rules by giving agents more time and flexibility to accommodate the needs of their customers and prevent inadvertent lapses in their physical damage coverage.

Found here.