Auto Insurance Companies Ordered to Defend Proposals

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has ordered three of the major auto insurance companies for the state to defend the proposals that they submitted to the state. Coakley says that the amounts that the auto insurance companies are charging seem to be extremely excessive and wants them to show proof of why they are charging such high rates.

Coakley wants the three auto insurance companies to defend their rates at public hearings so that residents can hear why they are charging so much. She maintains that they are, as a group, overcharging the state’s auto insureds by more than $100 million.

The proposed auto insurance rates would go into effect as of next spring, and the three companies in question handle auto insurance for roughly 45% of the state’s insured drivers. The companies being asked to defend themselves are Commerce Insurance, Premier Insurance, and Safety Insurance.

As Coakley has the ability and the power to call hearings, public or otherwise, with the purpose of calling out those auto insurance companies that are seemingly overcharging for their services, it is in the companies’ best interests to get their quotes right the first time. All three companies asked for rate decreases of only six percent, and she believes that the amount they are charging would still bring them large profits at the expense of the state’s drivers.
 

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