A bill that would raise Rhode Island’s vehicle total loss threshold from 80% to 85% is now on Gov. Dan McKee’s desk after clearing both chambers of the General Assembly. 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 would amend 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 bill, an insurer could not 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 would mark Rhode Island’s second total loss threshold increase in as many years. House Bill 6053 raised the threshold from 75% to 80% in 2025.
How Rhode Island’s threshold compares to other states
States regulate total loss determinations through different legal mechanisms, and the percentages they use often govern different things. Florida sets an 80% figure under Florida Statute § 319.30 for uninsured vehicles, tied to the cost of repair relative to replacement cost, that triggers the salvage title process. Wisconsin sets a 70% figure under Wisconsin Statute § 342.065(1)(c), which similarly requires a vehicle’s title to be branded as salvage once that threshold is crossed, rather than governing when an insurer must settle a claim as a total loss…