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Campaign for Fair Auto Insurance Reform (FAIR)

 

What's New

Did your insurance rates increase this year despite being a good driver? We want to hear about it.

Under the new “managed competition” auto insurance rating system in Massachusetts, many good drivers will receive rate increases and many bad drivers will receive large rate decreases, based on factors having nothing to do with their driving records, according to our new report entitled ‘How You Drive’ Takes A Backseat to ‘Who You Are’:  (Mis)Managed Competition in the New Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Market.

Starting April 1st, factors relating to “who you are” – income, marital status, homeownership, education, age, race, and other factors supposedly prohibited by the Division of Insurance for use in setting rates – will take center stage in the Massachusetts auto insurance market.

Tell Us Your Story:
If you are a good driver (SDIP 99) whose rates did not go down by the predicted 10%, or increased, please let us know. We will review the information and may use it to improve the process. We may follow up for additional information. Click here to tell us your story.

Important contact information:

The Attorney General’s Office Auto Insurance Comment Line
(866) 928-8667
Insurancefeedback@state.ma.us

The Division of Insurance – insurance regulators
1-617-521-7794

Your Driving Record: Merit Rating Board
617-351-4400

 

 

Overview

Automobile insurance is a significant, legally mandated household expense, without which consumers place their financial security and livelihood at risk.

Under the guise of “fixing the system”, many auto insurers along with and some lawmakers   launched a campaign to dump our regulated insurance rate setting process for a largely unregulated one.

MASSPIRG opposes efforts to eliminate our hard fought consumer protections. Deregulating the system  will result in higher rates over the long term, higher rates in the short term for urban and younger drivers,  insurers using unrelated factors to driving to set rates (marital status, education, type of job, and credit scores to name just a few), and failure to address the real cause of our high rates---our highest-in-the-nation accident rate.



A broad coalition of lawmakers, consumer groups and insurance agents announced their support today at the State House for a new bill which would ensure that auto insurance rates will be based on consumers’ driving records and not on unrelated or discriminatory factors.  read the release

Report

The Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Study Group

The Commissioner of Insurance should examine alternatives to move towards competitive rating using flex-bands while maintaining affordability for all drivers, minimizing disruption to the market and maintaining consumer protections. This may include, but is not limited to, allowing price flexibility for all coverages or continuing with a “fixed and established” system for compulsory coverages while allowing price flexibility in optional coverages.

 

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