How important is an application question?

February 22, 2023 Written By: Irene Morrill, CPCU, CIC, ARM, CRM, CRIS, MLIS, LIA, CPIW – Vice President of Technical Affairs, MAIA I receive many insurance emails daily from various business, insurance, and legal organizations and publications. The other day, I read an article about “the importance of underwriting questions in cyber apps.” And then,…

myRMV Homepage Changes

Effective Thursday, February 16, the myRMV homepage will be redesigned, and the layout will be more streamlined. The box for each section will have up to three links. If the section has more than three transactions, a “More” option will display at the end; this will take the customer to a full list of transactions for…

Adding Additional Insurance to HO Policy

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect as of August 2022. Question I have an insured that is going to install a generator for their house in Scituate, and the only place to put it is next to their neighbor’s generator on their neighbor’s property. The neighbors are okay…

Vanity Plate Application

Effective February 21, vanity plates can only be requested through the Online Service Center on Mass.Gov/RMV. The paper (mail-in) Request for Vanity Plates (document REG104) will be discontinued and removed from the website and Print on Demand. Please recycle/destroy any printed copies you have on that date. Read more. Questions? Contact Kathy Cormier at 508-634-7353 or via email at [email protected]

System Replacement Coming

The Crash Data System, including the online Crash Reports Portal, is being replaced over the next few weeks. The replacement system will optimize the acceptance, maintenance, and accessibility of Massachusetts crash reports for an overall improved customer service experience. During the migration process, the RMV is temporarily pausing the processing and accessing of crash reports and the online…

Business Auto and DOC

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect as of January 2023. Question Does a business auto policy have to have doc coverage if employees driving company vehicles are also listed as drivers on their spouse’s personal auto policies? Answer Irene Morrill: A DOC is an optional endorsement that a…

Five Star Renewals

Last week we had TWO agencies receive their Five Star renewal award presented by our very own President & CEO, Nick Fyntrilakis, and Agency Consultant, Erin Schaff. Matt Phaneuf, President of Bell & Hudson Insurance Agency, and his team were awarded their Five Star Renewal last week in Belchertown, MA! The Lapointe Insurance team was…

Massachusetts Legislative Update

We are pleased to report that the 2023-24 Legislative Session has kicked off with the swearing-in of all 200 State Representatives and Senators, including 26 new Legislators and a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and State Auditor. Last Friday marked the legislature’s bill filing deadline, with over six thousand bills filed for the session.…

Emailing the FID Department

Effectively immediately, all FID correspondence should be emailed to the FID direct email box. Please do not fax or send emails to personal email addresses. The FID email is [email protected] – This email box is monitored and will result in a quicker response. Read more here. Questions? Contact Kathy Cormier at 508-634-7353 or via email at [email protected]

Renting a Vehicle Out of Country

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect in December 2022. Question I have a customer going on vacation outside of the U.S. and Canada. He wants to know if his auto coverage is extended from his Mass. Policy, I believe it is not. I want to tell him to…

7D Medical Forms Completed by Physician Assistants

Effective immediately, physical exams for school pupil transport (7D) license applicants can be conducted by physician assistants in addition to physicians and nurse practitioners. The Medical Form for a School Pupil (7D) Driver Certificate or a School Bus Driver Certificate (VSC109) has been revised to indicate that it can be completed by physician assistants. The revised application has a date…

Commercial Policy and Personal Trailer

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect in December 2022. Question I have an insured with a Mass Commercial auto policy in a corporation name. The insured also owns a camping trailer in his personal name. Will the Commercial auto pick up the liability of the camper when pulled…

A Year of New Heights for InsurPac!

With the help of your contribution to InsurPac, Massachusetts ranked 4th in total donations for the year 2022. The total contributions for Massachusetts were $65,155! Of this amount, $7,700 came from our Young Agents – ranking them 6th among all contributing states and achieving their InsurPac goal for 2022! InsurPac finished with $1,269,794.59 in receipts. That total…

CAR Language Adopted – Big Win for MAIA Members!

Governor Baker signed the FY23 budget. We are happy to report that MAIA’s language relative to the Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers was included in the enacted budget. This language ensures appropriate agent representation on the CAR Governing Committee by removing the requirement that two seats be reserved exclusively for ERPs. For years these seats sat vacant due…

New Board Members!

We are incredibly pleased to introduce the newest members of the MAIA Board. These new members were sworn in at our 2022 Annual Meeting in Boston at our annual Big Event! (From left to right) Bill Burbine, Fred C. Church Insurance; Ted Gibson, MLIS, Deland, Gibson Insurance Associates, Inc.; Tricia Sabulis CISR, CIC, AAI-M, A.P…

New Year, New Chair!

Lisa Hirbour, CPCU, CIC, MAIA’s New Chair for 2023, presented Ben Cavallo, CIC, AAI, CISR (MAIA’s 2022 Chair), with the Chair Award at our 2022 Annual Meeting. We are very thankful to both of you for your past, present, and future contributions! Congratulations! “I am looking forward to further progress on the initiatives and projects we…

IIAHC/NAIFA Annual Legislative Breakfast

State Senators John Velis and Jake Oliveira, State Representatives Mike Finn and Aaron Saunders, and other legislative staff with members of the Independent Insurance Agents of Hampden County, MAIA President, and CEO Nick Fyntrilakis, and MAIA Lobbyists Dennis Murphy and Anthony Abdelahad, at the IIAHC/NAIFA Annual Legislative Breakfast in Springfield.

I’m renting an auto on vacation out of the country…does my MAP and PUP cover me?

January 18, 2023 Written By: Irene Morrill, CPCU, CIC, ARM, CRM, CRIS, MLIS, LIA, CPIW – Vice President of Technical Affairs, MAIA I’ve had two emails in the last few weeks about car rentals out of the country, so big vacation weeks are coming up. Let’s take a look at what coverage there might or…

Individual Transports Vehicle to Florida and Coverage

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect in December 2022. Question We have an insured that will be driving other people’s autos to Florida for a fee, trying to figure out if he needs some kind of insurance. He does not have a business name or EIN#. Answer Irene…

Updated Forms

The following forms have been updated to reflect the changes regarding foreign license holders receiving a MA registration: +Attached is the revised version of the RTA. Fields D4, D6, and D8 were changed to allow information on licenses, IDs, SSNs, passports, and consular IDs. +Attached is the revised version of the RTA Instruction Guide. Questions? Contact…

Voter Registration Changes

Effective January 1, 2023, the VOTES ACT requires the RMV to remove the “opt-out” for voting from the driver licensing application. Applicants that wish to opt out may contact their town/municipality directly. Information on all eligible applicants will automatically be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth (SoC) for voter registration. The option to decline to…

RMV Title Question

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect in November 2022. Question I have a Dr. who bought out his leased vehicle; the current lease is in his medical practice name. The leasing company “sold “the vehicle to the medical practice naming the practice on the bill of sale and…

PL or CL Policy and Coverage

*This question was answered based on current rules, regulations & statutes in effect in October 2022. Question We were asked by one of our carrier underwriters to add a vehicle on the date of purchase vs. the date that the vehicle was stamped unless it had gone beyond 8 days. I am trying to put…