Frequently Asked Questions

AUTO INSURANCE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Yes, Massachusetts requires all car owners and drivers to purchase car insurance.

  • Bodily Injury to Others (BI): $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident
  • Personal Injury Protection (PIP): $8,000 per person per accident
  • Bodily Injury Caused by Uninsured Motorist (UM): $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident
  • Property Damage (PD): $5,000 per accident

Your auto insurance policy MUST list all licensed drivers living in your household along with any customary or occasional driver that resides outside of the household.  **Drivers already covered by their own insurance policy MUST be listed also.**

As soon as your son or daughter obtains a driver’s license, you need to add them to your insurance policy. They do not need to be added to your policy while they drive on a learner’s permit.

Call us at 1-800-897-2837 or come into one of our 15 convenient locations to verify coverages and authorize the change to your policy
For Private Sales: Must provide us with the Bill of Sale and the Title
Dealerships: Must provide us with RTA form, Title, and Purchase and Sales Agreement

There are only 2 ways to cancel your auto insurance:

  1. Cancel/Return the license plates to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. You can either process the plate return online through the MA RMV at WWW.MASS.GOV/RMV or take your plates into the Registry of Motor Vehicles. You will then receive a Plate Return Receipt, which MUST be forwarded to our agency in order to stop coverage.
  2. Provide us with a 2A Form which shows that your auto is now insured with a different company.

To remove a car from your policy, you must either cancel the license plates or send us a 2A Form which shows that the vehicle is now insured with a different company. To cancel your plates, go online to WWW.MASS.GOV/RMV or go into the Registry, then provide us with a copy of the plate return receipt. 

Yes. The single most important thing you can do to protect yourself from a claim denial is to check that all of the information you provide your insurance company is complete and accurate. It is up to you to notify your insurance company where your car is garaged most of the time, regardless of your listed address.  Also, if you or someone on your behalf gives false, deceptive, misleading or incomplete information on any application and if such information increases the insurance company’s risk of loss, your company may then refuse to pay claims under any or all of the Optional Insurance Coverages of the policy.

If you move outside of Massachusetts, you must obtain an insurance policy in your new state of residence within 30 days. After purchasing your new policy, return your MA license plates to the RMV and send us the plate return receipt you receive from the Registry.

If your policy is being cancelled because you have failed to pay your premium, you must pay your exact outstanding premium immediately to prevent cancellation. If you feel that the cancellation is unjust for any reason, you may submit a written appeal to the Board of Appeal. This must be done prior to the effective date of cancellation.

Yes. Your company must send you a notice at least 20 days prior to the effective date of the cancellation. A notice sent by regular mail with a certificate of mailing receipt obtained from the Post Office is considered sufficient. Certified or registered mail with a return receipt is no longer required.

Yes, if you have a valid foreign license, you can purchase an insurance policy. You may legally drive in Massachusetts for one year from your date of arrival in the US. However, you will need to obtain a Massachusetts license within that one year, otherwise your policy may be non-renewed.

In order to get credit, you must provide us with a copy of your out-of-state or foreign license and a copy of your driving record from that state or country.  If your record is not in English, it must be translated by a bilingual teacher from a MA accredited college or university or private school; a bilingual MA Notary Public; a local consulate for the licensee’s country; or a member of the American Translator’s Association.

You may still be able to get a policy, if you can show proof that you have gone back to your country and returned to the U.S.  Contact us at 1-800-897-2837 to discuss your options.

Your odometer reading is recorded at the service center during your annual MA safety Inspection. Insurance carriers use the difference in reported mileage from year to year to determine what discount, if any, for which you are eligible.

Yes, you must pay an insurance premium even if your vehicle is declared a total loss until such time as you return your license plates to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Your auto policy terminates when you return the license plates to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. If you don’t have your license plates because your auto was stolen or because your auto and plates were destroyed in a fire, you must go to the nearest Registry of Motor Vehicles office and obtain a lost or stolen plates receipt. This receipt must be presented to your insurance company in order to cancel your policy and avoid paying any additional premium. IMPORTANT: If you are driving a rental car while your claim is being investigated, you must keep your coverage in force until you return the rental car.

Yes. Commercial auto insurance covers your vehicle for both commercial and personal use. However, personal auto insurance does not cover a vehicle if it’s being used for business purposes.

Your current policy will not be affected by an accident, but your rate could increase as a result of the cost of an accident claim under what is called experience rating …  not as a surcharge but as increased premium.

Possibly. Deductibles apply whenever your policy’s collision or comprehensive coverage is used, regardless of who is at fault.  If the at-fault party was insured, your insurance carrier will attempt to recover your deductible from their insurance company.  If the at-fault party doesn’t have insurance, your insurer will attempt to collect it directly from them.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Home insurance is financial protection to cover you and your loved ones from the costs of unexpected events that could damage your home. There is no law that requires you to buy insurance on your home, but it just makes sense to protect your investment in your home. You should note, however, if you need a mortgage to help pay for your home, your lender or bank may not loan you money unless you buy and maintain insurance on your home. If you drop coverage or stop paying for it, some mortgage agreements permit the lender to take action against you to recover the amount that they did loan you. You should be aware, however, that even if your lender requires you to have insurance, they cannot require you to obtain the coverage from a particular insurance company and cannot require you to insure your home for more than the replacement cost of the building. The land on which your home is built accounts for part of the value of your home, but the land is not subject to the same perils as your home.

Here are three major reasons why you should buy homeowners insurance:

  1. Your home is likely the most valuable asset you’ll ever acquire. If it’s damaged or destroyed, it would likely take many years to recover the money you’ve invested in your home. Insurance can help pay to repair or replace your home.
  2. Your home is where you keep your “stuff”. Beyond the brick and mortar used to build your home, it’s where you keep your clothes, furniture, and virtually all of your worldly possessions … some of which would be virtually impossible to replace.
  3.  It’s where you live. Almost everything associated with your non-work life is in your home. If damage to your home makes you live elsewhere, you not only want to fix what is wrong, but you may need to pay for additional living expenses while you can’t live in your home. Insurance can help pay some transition costs until you are able to return to your home.

All kinds of things could happen. Things like fires or natural disasters, including hurricanes or earthquakes, could destroy your home. Your home could be susceptible to electrical fires, frozen pipes, burglaries or lawsuits filed by other parties claiming your negligence caused them harm. If you don’t properly maintain your home, it could also be damaged by ice dams or roof leaks.

Insurance is intended to address the costs of unexpected damages beyond your reasonable control. It is not intended to pay the expected repairs you need to maintain your home whether by replacing worn out roofs or taking appropriate precautions. By purchasing the right insurance policy, you may be able to protect yourself from the financial costs of unforeseen losses. Without appropriate protection, you could lose everything that you have worked so hard to obtain.

  1. Your home is likely the most valuable asset you’ll ever acquire. If it’s damaged or destroyed, it would likely take many years to recover the money you’ve invested in your home. Insurance can help pay to repair or replace your home.
  2. Your home is where you keep your “stuff”. Beyond the brick and mortar used to build your home, it’s where you keep your clothes, furniture, and virtually all of your worldly possessions … some of which would be virtually impossible to replace.
  3.  It’s where you live. Almost everything associated with your non-work life is in your home. If damage to your home makes you live elsewhere, you not only want to fix what is wrong, but you may need to pay for additional living expenses while you can’t live in your home. Insurance can help pay some transition costs until you are able to return to your home.

An insurance policy is a legal contract. Unlike a bank account where you save money for a rainy day, under an insurance contract you pay a premium to an insurance company in return for the insurance company’s promise to pay for covered losses that occur during the policy term.

Homeowners insurance is offered in what is referred to as a “competitive market.” You can shop around for coverage from different insurers in your area. An insurance company may refuse to write your policy; however, under Massachusetts law an insurance company cannot consider your race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, ancestry, sexual orientation, children, marital status, veteran status, the receipt of public assistance or disability” when deciding whether to provide, renew or cancel home insurance. If you believe that a company has used any of these factors, you should file a complaint with the Division of Insurance at (617) 521-7777.

Until a policy has been in effect for 60 days, an insurance company is permitted by law to cancel a policy at any time. Once a policy has been in effect for 60 days, under Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 175, §99), it can be cancelled during the term of the contract only for the following:

(1) nonpayment of premium;

(2) conviction of a crime which increases hazard under the policy;

(3) fraud or misrepresentation by the insured in obtaining the policy;

(4) willful or reckless acts or omissions by the insured increasing the hazard of damage;

(5) physical changes in the property making property uninsurable; or

(6) a determination by the commissioner that continuation of the policy would violate or place the insurer in violation of the law.

Prior to cancellation, an insurer is required to provide you with sufficient written notice of cancellation, except in case of nonpayment of premium when the insurer is to provide at least ten days written notice. Once a policy is in effect, under Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 175, §193P), a home insurance company can refuse to renew coverage at the end of the term of the contract (usually one year), provided that at least forty-five (45) days prior to policy expiration, it gives the insured written notice of nonrenewal with a statement of the reasons for nonrenewal.

There are differing packages of insurance that may be offered to protect your home and belongings. Most single-family homes are covered under what is called homeowners insurance; other policies are more appropriate for renters or those owning condominiums. You should consult with us for the type of policy that is right for your home. It is important to know which risks a policy covers and which risks are excluded. Each policy protects against a specific number of perils (events that cause damage to property), including, for example, fire, windstorm, and theft. Policies may specifically exclude coverage for certain events, including for example floods,1 earthquakes, or damages related to poorly maintained properties

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