Insurance ripoff in Massachusetts

[jduke]

From Dealernews (and NOOOOoooo I don't have permission from wswartzwel to post this....but I went ahead because of the collective good it might do some our our friends in Mass.)


Five more insurers settle with Massachusetts AG over bike policies
Publish date: Oct 25, 2010
Five more insurance companies have reached settlements with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office over allegations they overcharged customers for motorcycle polices.

The settlements, which will return $12.1 million to consumers, center around allegations that Arbella Mutual Insurance Company, Hanover Insurance Group, OneBeacon Insurance (aka Massachusetts Homeland), National Grange Mutual (NGM), and Norfolk & Dedham Group (N&D) used inflated and un-depreciated motorcycle values to calculate premiums for Massachusetts motorcycle riders, resulting in more than $12 million in overcharges.

The Attorney General’s Office reached similar settlements with seven other insurance companies earlier this year. In total, the dozen insurance companies that have settled are paying back more than $33.8 million to Massachusetts residents and more than $1.5 million to the state.

For more information about how the overcharges occurred, including charts depicting the overcharges, see Attorney General Coakley's Motorcycle Insurance Settlements.

Under the terms of the latest settlements, Arbella is required to pay $6.3 million to consumers, Hanover is required to refund $2.5 million, OneBeacon is required to refund $2.1 million, NGM is required to pay $645,679, and N&D is required to pay $554,480 to consumers. The insurance companies are also required to make payments to the state that total more than half a million dollars.

Posted by Holly Wagner

[wswartzwel]

You don't need my permission to post their property... But you do need theirs.


From their front page.

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[jduke]

Ratting out a fellow Pelican....is my expense report in trouble too????

[wswartzwel]

I didn't rat you out... just unsure where the "asking wswartzwels permission" came from.



BTW I don't always ride the speed limit either.

[Guest24]

Massachusetts should sell their insurance at 1/2 price since you can only ride 6 months out of the year.

[ckcarr]

These are the type lawsuites where the attorneys and government entities end up with the money and the policyholders recieve a check in the mail for $0.10 in about two years.

[Guest24]

Lawyers and accountants always make the big bucks.

[signit98]

All trust inspiring names... people who don't shop for their insurances, just don't deserve any better!

[signit98]

I pay $460 for 4! bikes for the whole year...

[Guest24]

Ralf, $460.00 doesn't tell much. What coverage and how much deductible.

[signit98]

$150/300 (K) - partial (I don't have any bikes that would be worth full coverage) and a $300 deductible... I am covered for theft, non-insured opponent and medical on my side.

Good enough for me at a better price I have seen from anyone else I ride with...

[Guest24]

Company name? That's very good.

[signit98]

Believe it or not, Progressive... never had an issue with them, very lenient when it comes to tickets and when I needed them to pay, they did. Not exactly a small insurer either.

[geothepencil]

Originally Posted by Nail24

Lawyers and accountants always make the big bucks.

The smart ones are changing their occupation to news analyst these days.

geo

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by signit98

Believe it or not, Progressive... never had an issue with them, very lenient when it comes to tickets and when I needed them to pay, they did. Not exactly a small insurer either.

I can't believe that I have the same insurance provider as Signit98!

[signit98]

Originally Posted by Nail24

I can't believe that I have the same insurance provider as Signit98!

OH, so you are THE OTHER insured party?

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by signit98

OH, so you are THE OTHER insured party?

Guilty!

[ckcarr]

Thanks for the heads up though.

I put two of three bikes on the Geico winter plan and knocked approximately $600 off my annual premium a few minutes ago. Now my annual total is $310 instead of around $900.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Nail24

Massachusetts should sell their insurance at 1/2 price since you can only ride 6 months out of the year.

Funny. My insurance doubled when I moved from VA to AZ for this very reason. I told them I rode all year in VA too, but they didn't care.

[AndrewA]

Originally Posted by Nail24

Massachusetts should sell their insurance at 1/2 price since you can only ride 6 months out of the year.

I'd imagine that your season cant be much longer than that, right? With all of the heat and humidity that you have to deal with and all...

Originally Posted by ckcarr

These are the type lawsuites where the attorneys and government entities end up with the money and the policyholders recieve a check in the mail for $0.10 in about two years.

Nail meets head.

I paid Norfolk & Dedham Insurance close to $4,800.00 over a three year period (04/05/06) for my R1100S. I just received three checks as my share of the settlement totaling a wapping $142.00.

Originally Posted by signit98

All trust inspiring names... people who don't shop for their insurances, just don't deserve any better!

Previous to 2008, we had no competition in MA. All rates were set by the State. It didn't matter, cost wise, where you got your insurance, because it was all the same. We also had no major carriers here because it was such a PITA to do business here.

Now that we have moved to what is called "managed" competition, I last paid about $280 with full collision for my R1200S to Progressive. Much better.