Auto Insurance Companies Pay it Back

 
There was a time when auto insurance companies could charge pretty much whatever they wanted to and no one would say a word. Those days are all but over as state by state residents are fighting back so that they can get a better deal on their auto insurance. This is especially prevalent with today’s economy, where people know that there are basic things that they have to pay for – electric, auto insurance, water – but they are not going to pay more than they have to for those services.
 
In Massachusetts, auto insurance companies started noticing that they were not getting a fair shake for their dollar. They found that they were paying too high of a premium for their auto insurance and they decided that this was enough – and that they were not going to sit still. They took their case to Attorney General Martha Coakley, and she fought for them for lower auto insurance premiums.
 
It seems that auto insurance companies were failing to correct a driving record database that they pulled their information from. This database determined how they rated their auto insurance policies, and determined how much money people would pay for their policies. However, if a motorist won an appeal of any “at fault” accident determination, that database was not being updated, thus resulting in higher premiums for their customers.
 
Metropolitan Property & Casualty, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Peerless Insurance Company, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation and Pilgrim Insurance Co. have all agreed to settle the case and to pay the state a combined $100,000 for those customers who were charged premiums that were too high. In addition to the fine for the state, they also agreed to reimburse those drivers for the money that they may have been overcharged on their auto insurance policies.



 

Back to March 2010 Archives