Bill Text: MA H4476 | 2009-2010 | 186th General Court | Introduced
Bill Title: RELATIVE TO EXEMPTIONS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE PLAN
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-08-04 - Signed by the Governor, Chapter 237 of the Acts of 2010 [H4476 Detail]
Download: Massachusetts-2009-H4476-Introduced.html
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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By Mr. Koutoujian of Waltham, for the on committee on Financial Services, on Senate, Nos. 490, 491 and House, Nos. 953, 958 and 961, a Bill relative to exemptions in the Massachusetts automobile insurance plan (House, No. 4476) Fe bruary 8, 2010 .
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FOR THE CO MMITTEE:
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Name: |
District/Address: |
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Peter J. Koutoujian |
10th Middlesex |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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An Act RELATIVE TO EXEMPTIONS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE PLAN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The second paragraph of subsection (A) of section 113H of c hapter 175 , as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following: -
Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, order, ruling or decision to the contrary, on and after January 1, 2011 every insurance company writing pri vate passenger auto insurance in the Commonwealth shall be required to accept assignments of risks and/or any apportionment of premiums, losses or expenses, pursuant to the plan, and no exemption from such assignments, or from the apportionment of premiums , losses or expenses, shall thereafter be permitted; provided, however, that any exemption from the assignment of risks previously afforded any such insurance company shall be allowed to continue to be used until its expiration, but in no event shall any s uch exemption continue beyond December 31, 2012. Assignments of risks and the apportionment of premiums, losses and expenses shall equal the proportion that each such company's voluntary business bears to all such companies’ voluntary business and as adju sted for any credits calculated by the plan.
SECTION 2. Subsection (B) of s ection 113H of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following new paragraph: -
(B) Such a plan shall be prepared and administered by a governing commi ttee appointed by the commissioner for terms of six years, consisting of six members from insurance companies participating in the plan and one additional representative from a domestic insurer in the commonwealth whose annual motor vehicle policy premiums amount to less than two and one half percent (2.5%) of the private passenger insurance market and unaffiliated with any other insurance company represented on the governing committee, and six members from associations of insurance producers. Effective as of July first, nineteen hundred and eighty-two, the governing committee shall consist of three members from insurance companies participating in the plan and two members form associations of insurance producers appointed for terms of six years, two member s from insurance companies participating in the plan, two members from associations of insurance producers appointed for terms of four years, two members from insurance companies participating in the plan and two members from associations of insurance prod ucers for terms of two years. The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to alter or amend the terms of the present governing members. The governing committee shall be responsible for the hiring of the employees of the plan.
SECTION 3. Subsection (D) of section 113H of c hapter 175 , as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following new paragraph: -
A duly licensed insurance producer, cert ified to place business in the plan, shall own and have an exclusive right, as the insured's producer of record, to use certain insurance information of the insured embodying the records of the insurance agency which shall include but not be limited to the name of the insured, the policy inception date, the amount of insurance coverage, the policy number and the terms of insurance. If a policyholder, insured through the plan with an assigned risk carrier, is offered voluntary coverage by said carrier and t he policyholder accepts the offer, the insured's producer of record shall continue to represent the insured written or renewed in the voluntary market, and such policy shall be continued to be serviced through the producer of record, unless: (1) said produ cer is decertified or suspended by the plan or the commissioner; (2) at the insured's request, the insured terminates such producer as its producer of record; or (3) the producer of record is precluded from dealing with other insurance companies pur suant to an exclusive agency contract; provided, further, if a policy is written or renewed on a voluntary basis, the assigned risk carrier shall pay the insured's producer of record the commission rate as set forth in the first paragraph of subsection (D) , regardless of whether the producer of record has an agency agreement with that assigned risk carrier.
SECTION 4. Chapter 271 of the Acts of 2008 is hereby amended by striking out in the first paragraph the word “2010” in each instance and inserting in place thereof the following word: - 2015; and by striking out in the second paragraph the word “2011” and inserting in place thereof the following word: - 2014.
