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Many Massachusetts Independent Insurance Agents offer daily, free Registry of Motor Vehicles service.
Many Massachusetts Independent Insurance Agents offer daily, free Registry of Motor Vehicles service. Ask your Agent if they will go to the Registry for you.
MA Auto Insurance: Parts 3 & 12 are Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
These limits are important and often over looked.
MA auto insurance rates are all over the map (insurance agent humor: All over the MAIP lol).
Recently our Agency utilized Vermont Mutual’s accident forgiveness endorsement and lowered a woman’s rates, living in Lynn, MA from $2,100 down to $1,465.
Meanwhile, we also improved her Parts 3 & 12 to match her Part 5 limits of $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident.
Parts 3 & 12 are Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
These limits are important and often over looked.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage (Part 3) protects you & occupants from other driver that may be driving without insurance. If they injure you, this coverage allows you to collect under your own coverage for things like medical bills, lost wages, pain & suffering etc.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage (Part 12) protects you & occupants from other drivers that have less (Part 5) coverage than you have. If they injure you, you can collect the difference between what they carry and what you carry.
* Note: you cannot carry higher Parts 3 & 12 than you do Part 5 (Optional Bodily Injury to Others) Coverage.
We recommend that your Parts 3 & 12 limits match your Part 5 limits.
We recently included some new consumer friendly Pages to our MA Auto Insurance Web Log, namely
We recently included some new consumer friendly Pages to our MA Auto Insurance Web Log, namely:
We recommend that parents, in order to best protect assets, consider registering and insuring a vehicle in their child’s name. In Massachusetts parents are provided 100% insulation from lawsuits arising from bodily injury or property damage claims.
Mass. MGL Chapter 231, section 85A: “If a car is registered to the child and the child gets into an accident causing personal injury and/or property damage, there is no reponsibility on the parent. It does not make any difference who bought the car or who pays for the insurance, or how old the child is so long as we are talking about negligence.”
On this basis it might make sense for parents to consider insuring a vehicle in their child’s name.
In an attempt to de-mystify the annual, pesky excise tax we offer the following excise tax information:
Excise bills are prepared by the RMV according to information on the registration. They are sent to city/town assessors who commit them to local tax collectors for distribution.
The excise tax rate is $25 per $1,000 of valuation (NADA) subject to the following percentage formula:
In the model year: 90%; second year: 60%; third year: 40%; fourth year: 25%; fifth year & beyond: 10%.
If you have turned in your plates on the vehicle you are getting excise taxed on, or if you have transferred plates and got rid of the vehicle, you may be eligible for abatement . Abatement instructions are located on your excise tax bill.
The Homestead Act is designed to allow homeowners in Massachusetts to protect their primary residence against sebsequent attachment, levy or sale to satifsy debts up to $500,000. The Homestead Law does not protect against: taxes or mortgages used to purchase the residence. Homeowners must file for the Homestead Act with The Registry of Deeds office in the county in which the residence is located.
Massachusetts charges a one time Filing Fee of $35 for a Declaration of Homestead.
Click for: Declaration of Homestead Form (pdf)
Over the years, we’ve found each Page consistently referenced. If you have any ideas or requests, please let us know.
Your MA independent auto insurance agent will shop for the best rates, with the best companies. Your independent agent shops for discounts that are available to you. Your agent will review all your insurance products and package them together to find you the best rates.
Insurance companies are all vying for MA auto insurance market shares.
Some national insurers have eliminated the independent insurance agent. Some have embraced the agent. Some have tried to do both.
Why is a MA Independent Agent important?
Your Agent is important because they write many lines of insurance with many different companies. They represent more than just one company.
Do you pay extra for a MA Independent Auto Insurance Agent?
No. Your independent agent will shop for the best rates, with the best companies. Your independent agent shops for discounts that are available to you. Your agent will review all your insurance products and package them together to find you the best rates.
Someone recently asked for an example of our MA Auto Insurance: Wild West analogy &, this morning I ran into a perfect MA auto insurance rating example.
Longtime client has an old (99) Honda Accord with, almost, 200,000 miles on it. She lives in Dorchester & carries mimimum-type liability limits ($20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident parts 3, 5 & 12; $100,000 Part 4; No Collision & No Comprehensive Coverage). Not to name names (Travelers) was charging her $1,019 for her June 2, 2010 auto insurance renewal.
We re-rated her with six MA auto insurance companies and one (Vermont Mutual), offers identical coverage at an annual premium of: $576.
$576 vs $1,019!
This is a, not so subtle, reminder to auto insurance consumers & agents in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Shop Your Coverage!
Growing up in the 70’s I was addicted to Bonanza, The Big Valley & The Lone Ranger. I fancied myself a cowboy. A Massachusetts cowboy. Completing my front nine, 43 years later, Idid not become a cowboy. Instead, I became something better: an independent Massachusetts insurance agency owner!
Growing up in the 70’s I was addicted to Bonanza, The Big Valley & The Lone Ranger. I fancied myself a cowboy. A Massachusetts cowboy.
Completing my front nine, 43 years later, Idid not become a cowboy.
Instead, I became something better: a Massachusetts independent insurance agency owner!
Two years ago “managed competion” auto insurance entered the state of Massachusetts. It’s been just like the Wild West of my childhood imagination.
First, companies gave out appointments to agencies. Next, they lowered rates & offered additional discounts & broader insurance programs. More companies entered the state including: Allstate, Progressive & Geico.
Companies lowered their rates & offered additional discount & insurance programs.
As an independent agent, writing with many different companies, competition allows us to flex our rating muscles — or quick draw our six shooter.
Prior to April, 2008 MA auto insurance consumers had very few insurance programs to choose from. MA “Managed Competition” auto insurance (deregulation) entered the state, along with additional companies, and — all of a sudden –, programs long enjoyed by the rest of the country, are now available here in Massachusetts.
For example: Vermont Mutual Insurance Company offers an “advantage” endorsement. For $35 this endorsement includes (among other things): accident forgiveness, disappearing deductible, auto loan/ lease gap coverage, & enhanced substitute transportation coverage.
For qualifying new business what this means is, if you have 4 points on your license due to an at-fault accident, you can pay $35 for the advantage endorsement and Vermont Mutual will rate you with no surchage points: saving you big money.
If you are already insured with Vermont Mutual, you can add the endorsement & if you are in an at-fault accident, at renewal time, Vermont Mutual will not charge you for the surcharge points.
The endorsement, to this MA independent insurance agent, seems like a real bargain.
We can all thank MA Managed Competetion Auto Insurance.
The Homestead Act is designed to allow homeowners in Massachusetts to protect their primary residence against sebsequent attachment, levy or sale to satifsy debts up to $500,000. The Homestead Law does not protect against: taxes or mortgages used to purchase the residence. Homeowners must file for the Homestead Act with The Registry of Deeds office in the county in which the residence is located.
Massachusetts charges a one time Filing Fee of $35 for a Declaration of Homestead.
Click for: Declaration of Homestead Form (pdf)
Registry of Deeds Links:
Registry of Deeds Offices:
The Homestead Act |
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Massachusetts Deed Massachusetts Document |
With all the rain we’ve had recently, the auto insurance floodgates in Mass. are not only open, they are under water.
A while ago, in a Bloomberg News article regarding competition in MA, I was quoted as saying “the floodgates are wide open in Massachusetts right now.”
With all the rain we’ve had recently, the auto insurance floodgates in Mass. are not only open, they are under water.
In order to find the best rates and best coverage, it is important to be able to shop multi-companies’ discount programs.
I recently signed up a woman who lives in Everett, MA with an April 1, 2010 effective date. She had 3 points on her license from an accident that happened in 2006.
Her policy limits were:
Part 5, Optional Bodily Injury to Others: $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident
Parts 3 & 12, Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage: $20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident.
Part 4, Property Damage Coveage: $100,000
Collision & Comprehensive Coverage with $500 deductibles.
Her annual premium, with 3 points (licensed over 6 years) was: $2,300.
By utilizing a company named Vermont Mutual ($35 Vermont Mutual Advantage Endorsement) we were able to waive her 3 point surcharge (Accident Foregiveness credit).
We improved her Parts 3 & 12 (protects her & occupants from uninsured & underinsured drivers) to match her Part 5 limits at $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident & we increased her Collision deductible from $500 to $1,000.
Her new annual premium?
$1,299.
(vs. $2,300)
Your MA Independent Agent provides you with competitive rates through numerous carriers. Your MA Independent Agent will take advantage of different discount programs. Your MA Independent Agent will provide you advocasy support at claim time. Your MA Independent Agent will provide you Registry of Motor Vehicles service and expertise.