How do I take advantage of the new rates?

1. You could possibly cancel your current policy effective on April 1 and sign up with another carrier.

2. There's a chance you may be allowed to cancel your current policy and sign up with the same carrier(receiving the better rates) depending on the new laws, which are not complete.

3. If your current insurer charges a fee for canceling early, new insurers might cover the fee, which Liberty Mutual is doing right now.

Progressive could be coming to the Baystate

Well, look who just stepped up to the plate? No, not Manny Ramirez but Progressive who just applied for a license to sell car insurance in Massachusetts. Progressive has been selling commercial auto insurance in Massachusetts since January. This new license is for Progressive Direct Insurance Co., which sells auto insurance to consumers online and is currently waiting for approval.

Progressive's spokeswoman said they don't have any official plans to begin offering personal lines of auto insurance here but they are encouraged with the changing laws in Massachusetts. They're still looking to see if they can be profitable with the new regulations.

I personally like how Progressive actually quotes other auto insurance policies even if it's a better price than their plan. Anyone else ever deal with them?

Massachusetts Auto Insurance Rates

With auto insurers soon being allowed to set their own rates in Massachusetts, it looks like it's possible that Massachusetts may lose its image of having the most expensive insurance rates for cars in the US. I always felt this was strange that the state set the prices since every other state I lived in had competition and free markets, which lowered prices.

It's my understanding that this will take effect for policy holders renewing their insurance by April 1. I've read it's estimated that rates will fall at least 7.8 percent for those policies renewing by April. So far, Liberty Mutual Insurance of Boston offered the biggest average reduction of 10.7 percent.

In addition to lowering prices, there should be more product offerings for consumers to try to persuade them to sign up for their car insurance plans. It is believed that more competitors will also come to the state lowering prices even more. Some of the major car insurance companies like Progressive and Allstate chose not to offer insurance plans in Massachusetts since it was heavily regulated. It will be interesting to see if they choose to come to the Baystate after these changes in the law although they haven't signed up yet.

While these are the benefits, I feel I should also share the concerns of some critics. Some feel the state may actually have chosen to reduce rates of at least 10 percent in the coming year. Others noted that the new rules allow auto insurance companies to look at more factors than just driving record such as occupation, credit scores, and income when giving auto insurance quotes.

I'll be doing a little more research on the subject so expect some more posts.