CAR – Bulletin No. 1149 – Electronic MAIP Stamp
CAR is pleased to announce the implementation of an electronic stamp (E-Stamp) for use on registration and insurance certifications for MAIP policies. On March 1st, agents can log in to their MAIP account for complete instructions on how to use the electronic stamp. Read the full update here.
Have You Reached Out To Our Team and Not Heard Back?
Have you ever lost a voicemail message? Does your email sometimes go to a ‘black hole’? Ours too! We want you to know that we are ALWAYS here for you and our team is eager to assist you! If you contact us and do not hear back within 24 hours, please reach out again! Be sure to CC [email protected] or…
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.…
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.
2022 Q3 P&C Marketplace Summary
You are being provided this Massachusetts 2022 Quarterly P-C Premium Summary – Q3 as a benefit of your membership in the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents. Quarterly premium data reveals trends to give you, as members, a more “real time” sense of market conditions. Below are the highlights from the most recent quarterly data, as…
Make Your Voice Heard to Ensure Appropriate Representation on CAR Governing Committee!
Make Your Voice Heard to Ensure Appropriate Representation on CAR Governing Committee! In our continued effort to pursue every avenue to pass legislation important to Massachusetts’ Independent Agents, Representative Mike Finn filed Amendment #515 to the House Budget. The language of this amendment mirrors MAIA’s Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers bill. As you know, this is a technical correction…
Gain FREE Insight into Your Agency with QuickClicks BDT!
Gain Agency Insights with QuickClicks BDT Free Access for Every MAIA Member Agency Through May 20, 2021! Every independent agency owner wants to know how their business measures up. We encourage you to sign up before May 20th for these free QuickClicks Business Development Tools (BDT). WHAT IS QUICKCLICKS BDT? In short, QuickClicks BDT is…
Special Bulletin: MAIA’s Fair & Accurate Quotes Bill Becomes Law!
We are happy to announce that key language from “An Act Relative to Fair and Accurate Motor Vehicle Insurance Quotes”, was incorporated into the Economic Development Bill that was signed yesterday by Governor Baker. MAIA proposed the Fair and Accurate Quotes Bill after fielding complaints from members who were losing business to direct writers due…
What to Do if You Receive a Threatening Letter Re: Website Accessibility
NOTE: This was originally posted on 7/20/20 under the title Legal Notifications About Website Non-Compliance, but includes some updates and clarifications as of 7/29/20. It has come to our attention that many Massachusetts-based independent insurance agents have received an email and/or fax from Portell Law Group out of Washington, DC, with a demand letter and…
25% Capacity Limitations for Essential Businesses
Questions remain about how to interpret the mandatory requirement that all Massachusetts businesses, even those deemed essential, limit their office to “25% occupancy.” According to the state’s written safety standards, the 25% can be based on EITHER the maximum occupancy limits set for your building/space per code – OR – your business’ typical occupancy as…
Special Bulletin: Big ‘I’ Establishes Trusted Choice® COVID-19 Relief Fund to Assist Independent Agencies
Progressive donates $2 million to provide relief to independent insurance agencies facing pandemic challenges Our national association, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”), is pleased to announce that Progressive Insurance has donated $2 million dollars to establish the Trusted Choice® COVID-19 Relief Fund in response to the economic and operational…
Special Bulletin: Insurance Agents ARE Essential
Special Bulletin: Insurance Agents ARE Essential For more recent information, please read this post from 3/24/20: Yes, the Governor Deemed Insurance an Essential Business No, That Does Not Mean Your Agency Must Stay Open Governor Baker this morning (3/23/20) mandated that all non-essential businesses in MA shut down. However, MAIA has just confirmed that insurance…
Special Bulletin: COVID-19 Updates for Thursday 3/19/20
Special Bulletin: COVID-19 Updates for Thursday 3/19/20 Dear Members,While we don’t want to be like the TV news media with “Breaking News” interruptions every five minutes, we want to keep you up to date on important topics in a timely fashion. With the understanding that some of this information may actually change within five minutes,…
Gov. Baker Files Coronavirus Response Bills
Gov. Baker Files Coronavirus Response Bills MA Gov. Charlie Baker has filed a suite of legislation related to the COVID-19 crisis. Most relevant to independent agencies, S.2598 would eliminate the waiting period for unemployment benefits (currently one-week) paid to workers impacted by COVID-19.
Families First Coronavirus Response Act – H.R. 6201
Families First Coronavirus Response Act – H.R. 6201 We want to call your attention to a piece of pending legislation — Families First Coronavirus Response Act, (H.R. 6201) — which will have implications to employers of fewer than 500 employees, so it will be very relevant to most MAIA member agencies.
MAIA & Number One Agency Staff Working from Home
MAIA & Number One Agency Staff Working from Home Beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, and until we communicate otherwise, employees of MAIA and MAIA’s Number One Insurance Agency will be working from home. We have been preparing for a work-from-home scenario, but of course there may be some unanticipated logistical glitches. Your understanding is appreciated.
MAIA Suspends All LIVE Classes for 30 Days
MAIA Suspends All LIVE Classes for 30 Days MAIA continues to follow the US CDC and local government guidelines on steps we can take to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to implement the following action: Effective immediately, MAIA has suspended all “in-person”…
Flood Update: NFIP is Back in Business as FEMA Reverses Decision
Flood Update: NFIP is Back in Business as FEMA Reverses Decision Believe it or not, the NFIP situation has changed AGAIN, and this time the news is good! After a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work and pressure from the insurance marketplace (largely organized by the Big “I”) and our allies in Congress, the National Flood…
Flood Update: Lapse in FEMA Appropriations Causes NFIP Lapse
Flood Update: Lapse in FEMA Appropriations Causes NFIP Lapse Despite the extension the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through May 31, 2019, FEMA has unexpectedly halted appropriation funding for the program, effectively creating an NFIP lapse.
Flood Update: NFIP Extended Through May 2019
Flood Update: NFIP Extended Through May 2019 We are pleased to report that, despite the partial Government shutdown, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) did NOT lapse. Late in the evening of Friday, December 21, 2018, Congress passed legislation to extend the program through May 31, 2019, and the President signed the extension into law.
What an NFIP Lapse Will Mean to Mass. Agents
What an NFIP Lapse Will Mean to Mass. Agents As of this writing (Friday afternoon, 12/21/18), a government shutdown is still looming. If the shutdown happens, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization will lapse at midnight tonight. (Reauthorization of NFIP is tied into the funding bill). If a lapse does occur, existing NFIP flood policies…
DOI Issues New FAQs for Property Claims Related to Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions
DOI Issues New FAQs for Property Claims Related to Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions On November 15th, the MA Division of Insurance (DOI) issued a document titled “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Homeowner’s Insurance Claims” to respond to questions about property claims associated with the September 13th gas line explosions and fires in Andover, North Andover, and…
2017-2018 Legislative Session Report
2017-2018 Legislative Session Report The 2017-2018 MA legislative session officially wrapped up on July 31st.
Action Needed – Call Your State Representative Today!
Action Needed – Call Your State Representative Today! Call Your State Representative Today! Help get H.3682, “An Act relative to fair and accurate motor vehicle insurance quotes” to the House floor for a favorable vote. H.3682 has successfully moved favorably through 2 Committees – Financial Services and Steering and Policy. We need your help…
New RMV User Agreement Now Available
New RMV User Agreement Now Available As communicated in last week’s Special Edition of the Registry News, the RMV has released a new user agreement. The new user agreement is being issued in the run up to the launch of Phase I of the ATLAS System; a technology upgrade that will replace the current ALARS…
National Flood Insurance Program Lapses Due to Government Shutdown
National Flood Insurance Program Lapses Due to Government Shutdown After several short-term extensions that had been tied to the federal government’s spending bill, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) officially lapsed on Saturday, January 20th. Until the program is reauthorized, no new flood policies can be purchased and no renewal bills can be paid.
Coastal Flooding from Winter Storm Grayson
Coastal Flooding from Winter Storm Grayson Winter storm Greyson brought much of the East Coast to a grinding halt this week – with freezing temperatures, heavy snow and whipping winds. Significant impact in Massachusetts was seen on the coast, as historic high tides on Thursday caused coastal flooding in a number of communities from Gloucester…
Government Affairs News – Updates from Washington DC & IIABA
Government Affairs News – Updates from Washington DC & IIABA Congress Releases Compromise Tax Bill By Jennifer Webb, Big “I” Federal Government Affairs Counsel
Anderson Officially Named Commissioner of Insurance
Anderson Officially Named Commissioner of Insurance We want to make our members aware that Gary D. Anderson has been officially appointed the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Insurance. Anderson has served as acting Commissioner of the Division of Insurance since February of this year, when Dan Judson stepped down to take a position as…
- « Previous
- 1
- 2