BURNES SAYS INSURERS QUEUING UP TO ENTER MASSACHUSETTS

Four motor insurers currently not writing business in the US have said that they will come into the state if the competitive pricing plan of Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes is approved, Ms Burnes claimed late last week. Speaking to Insurance Journal , Ms Burnes declined to name the companies, but said that her plan, under which competitive rating would begin in April next year, would act as a boost for the Massachusetts motor insurance sector. Ms Burnes noted that the experience of New Jersey, where several motor insurers entered or re-entered the state subsequent to deregulation in 2003. She said that she had spoken to officials from New Jersey and other states where there had been deregulation. Ms Burnes’ proposals allow for pricing based on driving experience, driving record and the model of the car being insurers, but bars the use of sex, marital status, education, job, ethnic origin, religion and home status. The situation regarding the use of credit scoring, where insurers charge customers more if they have a bad credit record, is under review. Ms Burnes, cognisant of the situation in Florida where reduced rates were promised by politicians but not delivered by insurers, said that “I hope we will not oversell the savings”. She stated that she hopes that the rates for good drivers would go down, but that the proposed reforms were about creating options for consumers as well as about bringing down prices.