National Association of Insurance Commissioners applauds achievements of deregulation of auto insurance in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Auto InsuranceAccording to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, following the deregulation of the auto insurance marketplace in Massachusetts in April 2008, the average driver’s coverage premiums decreased by $133.80 per year.

The Association released a report that showed that at the end of 2007, the average premium had been $1,056.91 per year. Two years later, at the same time, it had dropped to $923.11. That meant that the average decrease in auto insurance premiums was 12.7 percent per year. It noted that only the figures considered only the premiums paid for private passenger car insurance.

Comparatively, according to data from Joseph G. Murphy, the state insurance commissioner, the average national decrease in auto insurance premiums was only 1.4 percent.

Before the deregulation occurred, the auto insurance rates were set by the state every year. This process led Massachusetts to be among the most expensive states in which to insure a car in the entire country. Following the deregulation, insurance companies started being able to set their own rates, with some state regulation.

The change has not only lowered the premiums paid by the average driver, but it also helped in drawing an additional thirteen insurers to the state since it occurred. This boosted the number of insurance carriers to 32, from its previous total of 19.

According to the Insurance Center of New England’s chief operating officer, William O. Trudeau, “The competition is now more intense.” With this increased competition comes an effort by insurers to offer their policyholders more features, because they now have reason to do so.

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