HO 24 13

HO 24 13 QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 29, 2019 I need your expertise on this endorsement.  Is there any case-law for using this endorsement to get road  liability coverage for a personal use tractor ?  If not, how do agents handle getting liability…

Binding Authority and Endorsements

Binding Authority and Endorsements QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 11, 2019 We have a client who recently bought an additional car. Their son had an injury and is disabled. The additional car was bought for their son’s friend who is using the car to…

Named Insureds

Named Insureds QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 11, 2019 We have a MA Auto risk for a father who solely owns a vehicle and his daughter who solely owns her vehicle. They are the only household residents. I’m getting mixed feedback on whether we…

Auto towed on a trailer

Auto towed on a trailer QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 11, 2019 Good Afternoon Irene!!! I believe you have addressed this question before in Question of the Day but I can’t find it…. We have an insured with a regular auto policy and an…

Loss of Use on a Rental Car

Loss of Use on a Rental Car QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 17, 2019 Need clarification on whether or not a rental car company can chase and insured and/or their insurance carrier for loss of use on a vehicle? I know carriers aren’t paying…

Help Your Clients Hit the Road With the Right RV Coverage

Help Your Clients Hit the Road With the Right RV Coverage It’s camping show season… prime time for people to pick up a bright, shiny new RV. Has your client contacted you to insure their fabulous new purchase yet? Safeco’s RV Program offers:

Garaging

Garaging QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 17, 2019 MA Auto policy – Looking for feedback on vehicles garaged at college. We (the carrier) expect that garaging should be changed to reflect the vehicle being away at school and will deny a claim if garaging…

New Online Inspection Station Complaint Form

New Online Inspection Station Complaint Form   A new online Inspection Station Complaint Form (www.mass.gov/forms/inspection-station-complaint-form) has been created. Customers can use this form to electronically submit a complaint about an inspection station. It can be accessed from both the RMV website (www.mass.gov/rmv) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website (www.mass.gov/dep). The online form was…

Automatic Extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Automatic Extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)   The federal government has advised the RMV that individuals from several countries have had their lawful presence in the United States automatically extended because they were given temporary protected status (TPS). Due to the nature of the extension, a new lawful presence document, such as a new…

Accident with Neighbors Garage

Accident with Neighbors Garage QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 18, 2019 My insured had a car parked in his driveway unregistered/uninsured and was having a company come tow it away for cash.  The driveway was long, and the tow truck needed the car pulled…

Umbrella Quotes and MVRs

Umbrella Quotes and MVRs QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 22, 2019 I know this is an issue we (at least EIG) has gone over a few times with you. In regards to quoting an umbrella we know we cannot provide MVR printouts. To obtain…

Appeal of Surcharge

Appeal of Surcharge QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 24, 2019 We have an insured who was surcharged for an accident and at the time liability was determined I questioned it as I thought 50/50 was appropriate for this situation but the adjuster did not…

Personal Truck with Company Signage

Personal Truck with Company Signage QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 25, 2019 Question: one of our insureds registered there truck in their personal name and wants to put their Company Name LLC on the truck can they do that?  I have read all about…

WCRIBMA Special Bulletin: Updated Information on Residual Market Share

WCRIBMA Special Bulletin: Updated Information on Residual Market Share The MA Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (WCRIBMA) released Special Bulletin 05-19, Updated Information on Residual Market Share. 

MAIA Announces Classes in New Boston Location!

MAIA Announces Classes in New Boston Location! MAIA’ Education Team is delighted to announce that we’ve added a new classroom location in the heart of Boston’s Seaport District to better ­serve our members! Starting in June 2019, MAIA will offer classes at the beautiful new WPI Seaport, a state-of-the-art learning space at 303 Congress Street,…

Plate Returns – Date to Cancel MAP

Plate Returns – Date to Cancel MAP QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 24, 2019 Could you verify in the case where the plate for an auto is  returned, if we should remove the auto on the date of the plate return or the following…

Garaging – Livery Plate

Garaging – Livery Plate QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 09, 2019 I was wondering if you could let me know if our C.A.R. carrier has the right to garage our private livery van in Springfield even if it “sleeps” in Holyoke every night but…

Voluntary Surrender of License

Voluntary Surrender of License QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 I have a client who no longer drives and is just going to let his license expire. I think he should turn it in and get a Mass ID- is there a form/procedure…

Unlicensed Operator

Unlicensed Operator QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 One of our insured’s daughter had a friend drive who caused at huge at fault accident. Unbeknownst to the daughter, the friend does NOT have a license. He was arrested at the scene & the…

Surviving Spouse

Surviving Spouse QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 I have a surviving spouse that is going to be transferring everything to his name with the surviving spouse affidavit.  We have done the RMV-1 along with surviving spouse sheet and we have the death…

Updated Company Auto Insurance Filings – April 2019

Updated Company Auto Insurance Filings – April 2019

Help Home Businesses Weather the Storm

Help Home Businesses Weather the Storm We’ve all seen the severe weather events occurring around the country — inland floods, mudslides, windstorms, fires. These events are becoming more frequent and severe. Unfortunately, many home-based businessowners are finding out the hard way that they aren’t covered for business losses. That’s where you come in.

McSweeney & Ricci Insurance Agency Became “Frosty Friends” At a Local School Last Holiday Season

McSweeney & Ricci Insurance Agency Became “Frosty Friends” At a Local School Last Holiday Season Last Christmas was a special time of year for the folks over at McSweeney & Ricci Insurance Agency, as they were granted the opportunity to make a few kids’ wishes come true.

Out-of-State Dealers

Out-of-State Dealers QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 I work at a CT agency and we write in MA and run into the issue where an insured is getting a vehicle from a non-drive dealership. I wanted to confirm if they e-mail or…

Expanded Salvage Title Processing Locations

Expanded Salvage Title Processing Locations If an owner or insurance company wants to keep a vehicle that has been declared a total loss, it’s necessary to obtain a salvage title. Beginning April 22, salvage title applications will be processed in an expanded number of RMV Service Centers. In addition to Quincy RMV Headquarters and the…

“Non-Domicile” CDLs

“Non-Domicile” CDLs   “Non-Domicile” customers are residents of foreign countries who have temporary lawful presence in the United States. Beginning April 25th, “Non-Domicile” Massachusetts Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) can be issued to customers with temporary lawful presence from most foreign countries (except for Canada or Mexico). “Non-Domicile” customers will need to meet the same identification…

Young Agents to Host Clinics & Cocktails at Granite Links on May 22nd

Young Agents to Host Clinics & Cocktails at Granite Links on May 22nd  

CAR Garage Policy Form

CAR Garage Policy Form QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 I have a client that has a DLN plate but most of his revenue is derived from repairs. Since he works on heavy and x-tra heavy trucks, it would go to CAR. Does…

CAR Implements New Web-Based Cession System

CAR Implements New Web-Based Cession System Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers (CAR) has released Bulletin 1079, dated April 18, 2019, announcing the implementation of a new cession application for adding, correcting, and reviewing cession records. The new, secure, web-based application functions similarly to CAR’s previous mainframe application, but adds several convenient capabilities for users. It will be…

New CAR Rules

New CAR Rules QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 This week two agents under me received declinations for quotes on C.A.R. policies. One was for a business based in Natick but the principals split time between Rhode Island and Florida. I was under…

Tech Talk: Covered or Not? Delivery-for-Hire and the MAP — Grubhub, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Amazon Flex, etc.

Tech Talk: Covered or Not? Delivery-for-Hire and the MAP — Grubhub, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Amazon Flex, etc. By Irene Morrill, CPCU, CIC, ARM, CRM, LIA, CRIS, CPIW  — VP of Technical Affairs, MAIA  

Travel Trailer

Travel Trailer QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 I saw the question of the day on March 22 about travel trailers and I have a question. I have an insured that has a  5th wheel that is kept at a campground in Salisbury…

PIP and OBI

PIP and OBI QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on April 08, 2019 Passengers are covered under PIP and then optional bodily injury on an auto policy, correct?

ATLAS Focus Group April 2019 Update

ATLAS Focus Group April 2019 Update Big changes are afoot at the MA Registry of Motor Vehicles. In November 2019, Release 2 of the ATLAS system will go live, and new Registration and Title form will be replacing the current RMV-1 and RMV-3. And you’ll be glad to know that agents’ interests are being well…

Answers to Retirement Questions Are Yours for the Asking

Answers to Retirement Questions Are Yours for the Asking It’s April 17th. Maybe you didn’t check “Run the Marathon” off your bucket list this year. Maybe you left your taxes until the last minute (i.e., TODAY). That’s OK! You can feel better about your long-term goals by taking advantage of a free Retirement Plan consultation…

3rd. Party Rental

3rd. Party Rental QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on March 28, 2019 In regards to third party rental, when the insured was not at fault in the accident and needs to rent a car when was it permitted that the other person’s insurance company is allowed…

Out-of-State Violation Reporting

Out-of-State Violation Reporting QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on March 29, 2019 We have a client who got into an accident while driving a friend’s car in California…will this be reported to Massachusetts for her driving record? What states are reciprocal to MA?

Surviving Spouse Process

Surviving Spouse Process QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on March 29, 2019 Just a quick question. I have an insured coming in to pick up this form. His brother’s wife passed away. His brother is giving a vehicle which was in his late wife’s name to…

Plate v. Policy Question

Plate v. Policy Question QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on March 29, 2019   I have a quote that came across my desk with the following: Registered in Personal name as sole proprietor under DL# Used for tree work – moving tools/equipment to sites for tree…

Carrier Refusal and/or Delay to Cancel Policy 2A

Carrier Refusal and/or Delay to Cancel Policy 2A QUESTION This question was answered based upon current rules, regulations & statutes in effect on March 29, 2019 We’ve been having difficulty at times getting a particular Carrier to cancel a Policy or removing a vehicle on a Policy per 2A-Transfer of Insurance form being provided to them (via…