Insurance Issues: February 2010 Archives

February 19, 2010

Massachusetts Motorcycles Riders May See Insurance Refund

Safety Insurance Group, Inc., a leading Boston based writer of personal automobile insurance in Massachusetts, recently announced that it has reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office to change the way in which it calculated motorcycle insurance premiums for certain types of coverage dating back to January 1, 2002. Wherefore, our clients and all Massachusetts residents who own and insure their motorcycles in the Commonwealth may be getting a refund.

Policyholders whose premiums would have been greater under the method agreed with the Attorney General will not be billed for additional premiums. Policyholders who would have been charged less will receive a refund in exchange for a release of any claims they might have against Safety related to the premium calculations.

According to Safety's outside counsel, Peter Rice, "Although we disagreed with the Attorney General on a number of points, we believe that after extensive discussions Safety has arrived at a resolution of the issue and an agreement with the Attorney General's office that provides for the best interests of Safety's policyholders. Safety had followed standard practices generally used by many Massachusetts insurance companies to calculate appropriate premiums for motorcycle coverages. It cooperated fully with the Attorney General's review of those industry-wide practices and participated in the development of the new method."

Safety is working with the Attorney General's office to identify the policies on which refunds will be issued and the amount of the refunds to each individual policyholder. Safety will notify policyholders of the amount of any refunds offered and, upon receipt of the appropriate releases from the policyholders, intends to issue the refund checks in August 2010.

If you have any questions regarding your right to a refund and how the refunds are calculated, contact your insurance agent. At the Law Office of Neil Burns, we are committed to insuring our clients remained informed regarding insurance policies and practices whereby the consumer's best interest may have been jeopardized.

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