WASHINGTON, D.C. -

The National Automobile Dealers Association announced Thursday the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade passed H.R. 5859, a bill that eliminates a requirement that dealers provide information on auto insurance costs to customers.

Officials explained that the bill, which is strongly endorsed by NADA, also eliminates a $1,000 fine per violation if a dealer is unable to produce the booklet upon the request of a buyer.

NADA pointed out that since 1991, the federal government has printed and mailed the booklet, Relative Collision Insurance Cost Information, to all franchised dealerships. However, dealers and sales staff report that consumers rarely ask for the booklet, and the information is irrelevant to new-model buyers.

“Today, consumers can go online or make a quick phone call to compare insurance rates on different models,” NADA president Phil Brady said.

“Technology has simply made printing and snail-mailing an auto insurance report, which is potentially outdated and misleading to consumers, unnecessary,” Brady added.

A year ago, an Obama administration document said the booklet was “rarely used” and “not useful.”

Furthermore, a recent NADA study of 815 dealerships revealed that for 96 percent of dealers, no customer had ever asked to see the booklet.

“Dealers generally advise their customers to call their insurance agents directly for an accurate quote instead of relying on a government booklet which is printed once a year,” association officials insisted.

“The administration previously stated that ‘a prospective buyer does not need a brochure from the federal government to obtain this information, since insurance agents are trained to provide advice on how model selection affects insurance premiums,’” they went on to say.

NADA pointed out the bill does not prevent the government or the Highway Data Loss Institute, a non-profit organization which collects insurance data, from making the information available to the public.

The association said H.R. 5859 — introduced by Reps. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., and Bill Owens, D-N.Y. — is expected to be considered next by the full House Energy and Commerce committee.