Massachusetts Consumer Bill of Rights for Automobile Insurance

Massachusetts prohibits policy companies from denying you automobile policy based on your sex, race, religious doctrine, national origin, marital status, religion, age, occupation, income, chief put of garaging your car, education and homeownership. indemnity companies are besides prohibited from denying you automobile policy based on any credit information contained in a consumer report that is obtained from a credit rating coverage agency .
You have the right to know the basis for a company’s denial of your application for insurance.

Insurance companies can refuse to offer you coverage based on non-discriminatory grounds, but they must identify the reasons supporting their defense .
You have the right to obtain automobile insurance even if an insurer declines to give you a policy.
If you can not find an insurance ship’s company willing to issue a policy, you may obtain coverage through the Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Plan ( MAIP ). An policy agent can help you apply for coverage through the MAIP. The MAIP will assign you to an indemnity company that will provide insurance to you for up to three years. If you would like to learn more about your rights in the MAIP, please view the MAIP Consumer Guide .
You have the right to choose the coverage that is right for you.
Agents, brokers and companies must inform you in bare linguistic process of your coverage options when you apply for an automobile policy policy, or at any time upon your request if you already have a policy. different levels of coverage are available and you have the right to know how each option affects your premium and what your coverage would be in the event of an accident .
Insurers and agents must offer you the option of purchasing the watch amounts of coverage :

1. Personal injury protection benefits up to $8,000 per person/per accident;
2. Property damage liability up to $5,000 per accident;
3. Comprehensive coverage subject to a deductible of $500; and
4. Medical payments insurance of at least $5,000.

You should consider cautiously your choice to purchase medical payments policy if you already have health indemnity as your medical payments insurance may not be necessary if you have health insurance. You should discuss this with your insurance agent or insurance company anterior to making this decision .
You have the right to an insurance rate that is not unfairly discriminatory.
An indemnity company may use many different factors to determine your insurance rate. however, Massachusetts prohibits insurance companies from using factors such as : sex, marital status, race, creed, national beginning, religion, age ( except to provide the discount rate for persons who are 65 years or older ), occupation, income, department of education and homeownership. Companies besides may not use credit data contained on your consumer report that is obtained from a consumer report means .
You have the right to select certain insurance policy periods.
The majority of automobile insurance companies offer policies for annual periods. Some indemnity companies besides offer policies for six-month periods or for periods up to two years. You can take advantage of these options if they are offered to you. however, every insurance company that agrees to offer you a policy must provide a policy with a annual term if you ask for it. When you compare premium quotes from different companies, be sure to compare policy periods that are identical .
You have the right to have coverage under your automobile insurance policy regardless of who is driving your car provided you gave your consent to the driver.
In most cases, your policy covers any accident involving your car even when it is driven by person else with your permission. Your policy will not cover bodily injuries or property damage resulting from an accident when person drives your cable car without your consent. If your car is stolen, comprehensive coverage will pay to repair any damage to your cable car if recovered, or its actual cash rate at the clock it was stolen .
You have the right to travel and have your coverage follow you.
Your policy ‘s bodily injury security ( part 1 ) only applies to accidents that occur in Massachusetts. In order to have bodily injury coverage outside of Massachusetts, you must purchase the optional separate 5. even if you merely want the minimum level of bodily wound protection ( $ 20,000 per person or $ 40,000 per accident ), you must purchase this limit under separate 5 in club to be covered outside of the submit. If you purchase coverage under depart 5, your coverage – including bodily injury coverage – follows you everywhere in the U.S. and Canada.
You have the right to an explanation of how your driving history record affects your premium.
All companies use driving history when calculating premiums. Companies can not calculate a agio based on an accident or traffic irreverence that is more than six years erstwhile. The weight that companies assign to a particular traffic misdemeanor or accident varies based on the senesce and asperity of the incident. Companies develop their premiums using different systems ; therefore, it may not be easy to compare different quotes from different companies strictly on the footing of drive criminal record. Your agent or indemnity company will be able to help you with your questions.

You have the right to see your driving history record.
You may obtain a copy of the numeral of at fault accidents and traffic violations attributable to you from the Merit Rating Board ( MRB ). The MRB is the state agency that maintains these records. You can download the request form from the MRB ‘s web site at www.mass.gov/mrb .
You have the right to pay a deposit premium of no more than thirty percent.
You have the properly to pay a down payment of no more than 30 percentage of your policy ‘s bounty when you obtain or renew your policy, then long as you have not failed to pay your premium for automobile indemnity previously .
You have the right to cancel your policy at any time.
You can shop for a cheaper or different automobile policy policy at any time – not lone when your policy is up for refilling. If you find a better price or a party that offers extra coverages that you wish to purchase, you can cancel your old policy and seek a refund of your unused premium. Be aware that if you cancel a policy before it expires, your anterior company may charge you a penalty. You should consider this option identical carefully to make certain this is the best choice for you. You should never cancel your old policy until a new one is in effect. A lapse in coverage could result in higher rates in the future .
You have the right to change your coverages and policy limits at any time.
You have the right to change your coverages and policy limits at any time, even if your policy is not up for renewal. If you select lower policy limits or cancel non-mandatory coverages, you have a right to a refund of your idle premium .
You have the right to the prompt and fair handling of claims.
You have the right to ask about any payments made to others by your company and charged to your policy. If you file a call with your party, it should be handled promptly and reasonably. If your call is denied, the company must provide you with a written explanation for the denial .
You have the right to a notice of cancellation.
An indemnity company may cancel your policy before its passing date under very limited circumstances, such as when fraud is discovered ; when your driver ‘s license is suspended or revoked ; or, when you fail to make premium payments after a certain time period of clock time. The ship’s company must give you at least 20 days written notice before cancelling your policy. The detect must specify the argue for the cancellation .
If you receive a cancellation notice for non-payment of agio, you have until the date that the cancellation is to take impression in which to pay the bounty and avoid cancellation. If you pay your premium after it is ascribable, but before the cancellation date, check with your agent or insurance caller for the full measure due to make sure that your requital is complete .
You have the right to appeal a cancellation of insurance .
If an car insurance company cancels your insurance, you can file an appeal with the Board of Appeal. There is no guarantee that the Board of Appeal will reinstate your policy, but you are entitled to a full and fair hear on this cancellation. But please keep in beware that Massachusetts law requires that every vehicle operating in Massachusetts be insured .
You have the right to a notice of non-renewal.
An policy company can decline to renew your coverage for several different reasons. This occurs most much when a driver ‘s record includes certain “ at-fault accidents ” or motive vehicle violations. The company must issue a non-renewal notice immediately to you or to your agent at least 45 days prior to the exhalation of your policy. If you have an agent, your agent must send this notice to you within 15 days of the agent ‘s acknowledge, unless you obtain indemnity coverage from another policy caller during this time frame. The notice must specify the indemnity company ‘s cause for non-renewing your policy. The Division recommends that you begin to shop for car indemnity from unlike insurance companies ampere soon as you receive a non-renewal comment.

If you are in an accident and your insurance company finds that you are “at fault,” you have a right to be notified of this decision.
Your indemnity caller must notify you within a particular period of clock that it has made a decisiveness that you were more than 50 % “ at defect ” in an automobile accident. The notice besides must contain certain accident, hustler and policyholder information. It besides must provide the style and telephone count of the company example you can contact to discuss this decision. This comment besides is provided to the Merit Rating Board so that your driving history read reflects this finding .