Hawaii Wrote Down What Most States Leave to Argument: Notice Before Storage Payments Stop
The short version. In most states, the moment your insurer stops paying storage is a phone call you were never on. Hawaii wrote a notice duty into its insurance code. HRS § 431:10C-313 also settles three other arguments that elsewhere run on whoever pushes hardest: which towing company gets paid, whether charges can be netted out of your cheque before you see it, and how far a betterment deduction can go.
This page is about one state. It is useful in every state as a list of the four questions worth asking, because Hawaii has already answered them in print.
The four duties, quoted
1. Notice before storage payments stop
The insurer shall provide reasonable notice to an insured prior to termination of payment for motor vehicle storage charges and document the notice in the claim file. Sufficient notice to the insured to allow the insured to remove the vehicle from storage prior to the termination of payment shall constitute reasonable notice.
Note the definition of reasonable: enough time to get the vehicle out before the money stops. Not enough time to read a letter. And the notice has to be documented in the file, which makes it checkable later.
2. Towing, irrespective of the company used
The insurer shall pay any and all reasonable towing charges, irrespective of the towing company used by the insured, unless the insurer has provided the insured with the name of a specific towing company prior to the insured's use of another towing company. Any determination of reasonable towing charges shall consider policy coverage as well as the cost and distances involved in each claim.
The carve-out is timing. The insurer keeps the argument only if it named a company before you used a different one. After the fact does not count.
3. No advance deductions, and an itemisation duty
An insurer shall make no advance charge deductions for storage and towing charges unless excessive charges have resulted from the insured's own actions. The insurer shall itemize each advance charge deduction and maintain in its claim file documentation of the reasons and dollar amounts involved in each deduction.
This is the one that changes what arrives in the post. A deduction taken up front is a number you have to work backwards from. Hawaii bars it outright except where the excess is the insured's own doing, and then requires the deduction to be itemised and documented.
4. Betterment, with a ceiling
Betterment deductions are allowable only if they:
(1) Reflect a measurable decrease in market value attributable to the poorer condition of, or prior damage to, the insured vehicle; (2) Are for prior wear and tear, missing parts and rust damage that is reflective of the general overall condition of the vehicle considering its age; provided that any deductions for this type of damage shall not exceed $500; and (3) Are measurable, itemized, specified as to dollar amount, and documented in the insurer's claim file.
Three conditions and a hard dollar cap. Most states have none of this in statute at all, which is why betterment arguments elsewhere turn into a debate about tyre tread depth with no ceiling in sight.
Two more sentences in the same section
Loss of use. Where liability in a property damage liability claim "is reasonably clear," the insurer "shall pay for the reasonable and necessary costs, in direct proportion to the extent of its liability," of renting another vehicle, as long as the claim is submitted and substantiated. That is a third-party duty, and it is conditioned on liability being reasonably clear.
Parts. "No insurer shall require the insured or claimant to supply parts for replacement." One sentence, and it closes a practice that other states address only through unfair-claims regulations, if at all.
How to use this if you do not live in Hawaii
None of the above binds an insurer in another state. What travels is the shape of the questions.
Ask when storage payment ends, and ask for it in writing. Even where no statute requires notice, an insurer that tells you in writing has made a record. One that does not has left the argument open.
Establish who chose the tow. If the insurer named a company and you used another, that is a different conversation from one where nobody named anyone.
Ask for deductions itemised. A single reduced number is not a deduction you can check. A line with a reason and a dollar amount is.
Ask what the betterment is measuring. Hawaii's test is a measurable decrease in market value from prior condition, not a general adjustment for the car being used. That distinction is available to you as an argument anywhere, even without a $500 ceiling behind it.
The limits of this page
This is one section of one state's code. We read § 431:10C-313 in full and quoted it. We have not surveyed the other fifty jurisdictions for equivalents, and this page makes no claim about how many states have a comparable notice duty.
Storage disputes are often not insurance disputes. The bill usually comes from a tow or storage operator, whose rights sit in a different body of law, frequently including a lien. A duty on your insurer does not cancel a lien held by someone else.
Statutes are amended. The section was read on 18 August 2026 from the Hawaii State Legislature's own published text of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Check it again before relying on it in a dispute.
Sources
- HRS § 431:10C-313, "Insurer practices regarding loss of use, storage and towing, and betterment," read in full on 18 August 2026 from capitol.hawaii.gov. Every quotation above is from that section.
- The 50-foot rule for a damaged EV
- Where to file an insurance complaint, in every state
- When insurance will not pay for a proper repair
General consumer information: not legal, insurance, or financial advice. Requirements, coverage, and practices vary by state, policy, and manufacturer.
Where this fits
Each link says what it is for. We add one only when a reader on this page has a real reason to need that page next.
- Where to File an Insurance Complaint, in Every State (where the notice duty is enforced if an insurer ignores it)
- The 50-Foot Rule for a Damaged EV Comes From the Manufacturer, Not the Government (why an EV in storage is a different problem from a car in storage)
- Total Loss: Why the First Check Is Low, and Why Cashing It Can End Your Leverage (the deductions that come next, once storage is settled)