Esta ley enmienda la "Ley para la Protección de la Propiedad Vehicular" para requerir que las compañías de seguros o sus representantes autorizados realicen una inspección física y tomen al menos dos fotografías de los vehículos usados que pretenden asegurar, conservando dichas fotografías en los archivos. El propósito es prevenir la apropiación ilegal de vehículos y facilitar su identificación en caso de robo.
(Approved May 15, 2003)
To amend subsection (1) of Section 10 of Act No. 8 of August 5, 1987, as amended, known as the "Act for the Protection of Vehicular Property" to provide that insurance companies or their authorized representatives take pictures of the used vehicles that they intend to insure and conserve said in the files.
Act No. 8 of August 5, 1987, as amended, known as the "Act for the Protection of Vehicular Property," was approved by the Legislature with the purpose of preventing the illegal appropriation of motor vehicles and to protect the citizens from becoming the victims of said crimes.
The illegal appropriation of motor vehicles forms part of organized crime. As it is generally known, stolen or illegally appropriated vehicles have been used in the commission of other crimes, such as murder and burglary in order to prevent the authorities from identifying the perpetrators. Likewise, most of these vehicles are altered to hide their identity.
This measure proposes to demand that every insurance company or their authorized agents perform a physical inspection and take photographs of every used motor vehicle to be insured, and to keep the same in the files that, according to law, should be maintained for each insured vehicle.
The approval of this measure will result in benefits, not only for the victim of a crime, but also to expedite the police and insurance company's identification of the illegally appropriated vehicle.
Section 1.- Subsection (1) of Section 10 of Act No. 8 of August 5, 1987, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 10.- Obligation of Insurance Companies Every insurance company authorized to do business in Puerto Rico shall have the following obligations, without prejudice or impairment to the provisions and obligations found in other laws: (1) The insurer or his authorized representative will carry out a physical inspection of every vehicle it intends to insure, and in the case of used vehicles, at least two (2) photographs shall be taken from different angles, one of which shall show the license number, and they shall be kept in the file. To such purposes, the insurer shall maintain in its files written evidence of the inspection, which shall certify that the information contained in the policy has been directly corroborated against the automobile to be insured. When the insurance of the vehicle is only for third party liability, the requirement of the photographs shall not be applicable.
Section 2.- The Joint Underwriting Association shall be exempted from the provisions of this Act.
Section 3.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 125 (H.B. 3009) of the $5^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend subsection (1) of Section 10 of Act No. 8 of August 5, 1987, as amended, known as the "Act for the Protection of Vehicular Property" to provide that insurance companies or their authorized representatives take pictures of the used vehicles that they intend to insure and conserve said in the files, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $15^{ ext {th }}$ of April of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director