Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers

225 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110
617-338-4000

Fax:
617-880-7298
617-338-5422 - MAIP Security

MAIP Application Hours
7:00am - 7:00pm
Monday - Saturday

MAIP Help Desk Hours
8:30am to 4:30pm
Monday - Friday

Residual Market News

Supplemental Application Information – NEW!

As a result of an amendment to Rule 30 – Assigned Risk Company Reporting Requirements of CAR's Rules of Operation which was promulgated by the Division of Insurance on July 18, 2011, producers should now notice a new link displayed as part of the MAIP Policy Application completed assignment checklist.

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, §113H, Assigned Risk Companies (ARCs) must ensure that private passenger motor vehicle insurance policyholders who obtain coverage through the residual market pay a premium that is the lesser of: (1) the policy premium calculated based on the insurer's rates in effect for the voluntary market; or (2) the policy premium calculated based on rates in effect for the residual market.  The amendment made to Rule 30 requires an ARC to provide a form to an applicant requesting supplemental or additional information to be used by the ARC to more accurately calculate voluntary premium, including discounts or other charges for which the operators and vehicles may qualify, for comparison to the calculated residual market premium.  For additional information, refer to Rule 30 and Division of Insurance Bulletins 2007-16 and 2008-17.

Every ARC has been required to provide CAR with a link to a form or document that specifies the required supplemental or additional information.  The producer is required to forward the requested information to the ARC, along with the signed application, within two business days.

MAIP Policies Voluntarily Written at Renewal

If an ARC chooses to offer a voluntary policy to a risk that it has insured through the MAIP, it must mail a notification to the producer of record 90 days prior to the expiration date of the MAIP policy.  The notification must contain the premium quotation and coverages to be offered and the kinds and amounts of coverage to be offered may not be less than those afforded by the policy being replaced unless the insured refuses such kinds and amounts of coverage.  The producer may attempt to find replacement coverage for the insured from another Member and if successful, must notify the assigned ARC so that it will not make an offer to the policyholder.  The ARC will then have no further obligations to the policyholder or the producer of record.

If the company does not receive notification from the producer that replacement coverage had been obtained, the company must mail the policyholder the offer for voluntary coverage 45 days prior to the policy expiration date with a copy to the producer of record. If the policyholder accepts the offer, the policyholder's producer of record will continue to represent the policyholder unless the producer is decertified or suspended by the MAIP or Commissioner of Insurance, the insured chooses to terminate the producer as its producer of record or the producer of record is precluded from dealing with other companies by contract.

The company is responsible for paying a commission to the producer of record, in accordance with its commission structure for business written in the voluntary market at voluntary rates, regardless of whether there is a contract between the company and the producer of record.  However, no commission payments will be made if the producer is decertified or suspended, terminated by the policyholder as its producer of record or precluded from dealing with companies by contract.

FAQs

Foreign Drivers Licenses and the MAIP

1.  I have a risk with a foreign license.  Am I able to receive a MAIP placement to an Assigned Risk Company for this risk?

To be eligible for placement to an Assigned Risk Company through the MAIP, a risk must be in legal compliance with the foreign visitor requirements set forth by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.  The Registry of Motor Vehicles recognizes a foreign visitor from one of the countries or territories listed as parties to the 1949 Road Traffic Convention and the 1943 Inter-American Automotive Traffic Convention as being legally able to drive on the roads of the Commonwealth on his or her own country's license (limited to a licensed driver who is at least 18 years of age and limited to a vehicle of the type covered by the license) for up to one year from the date of arrival.  Subsequent to a year from arrival, the individual must obtain a Massachusetts license in order to legally drive on the roads of the Commonwealth.

A list of countries or territories that are parties to the referenced conventions is available in Appendix A of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Driver's Manual.

2.  What are my MAIP responsibilities relative to a risk with a foreign license?

When a MAIP application containing an eligible foreign licensed driver is submitted through the MAIP, it is the Assigned Risk Producer's responsibility to submit a photocopy of the foreign license to the Assigned Risk Company (ARC). The assigned company will confirm the authenticity of the license and a certified English translation may be required by the ARC.  To avoid potential policy issuance and coverage issues, it may be helpful if the producer obtains a copy of a foreign driver's license verification manual such as one that can be found at www.driverslicenseguide.com.

Processing Changes to an Assigned Policy

3.  I need to make a change to a policy that has already been assigned to an Assigned Risk Company.  Can MAIP process the change for me?

No.  Once an assignment has been made through the MAIP, all subsequent policy transactions (endorsements and billing activities) must be processed by the company to which the policy has been assigned.  Contact the ARC.


Going Online

Improved Printing & Viewing of MAIP Documents

Due to the excessive download time required to print or view documents using the Crystal Reports viewer with Java, along with a rise in the usage of mobile devices, such as the iPad that do not support this technology, CAR has modified the reporting engine on the MAIP website to produce all documents as .PDF documents. The documents impacted include the Application for Massachusetts Automobile Insurance, the Pre-Insurance Inspection forms as well as all of the documents that can be accessed by Assigned Risk Companies or the Division of Insurance.

You will need a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat installed on your personal computer in order to view these reports.  However, if you are currently able to open and view any of CAR's Notices, Committee Records or Manuals from the CAR website, it is likely that this software has already been installed on your PC.   If you encounter any difficulty in viewing or printing reports, you can download and install a newer version of the software, free of charge, from www.Adobe.com.

Verification of Rating Territory

In order to assure that a policy is accurately rated by both the MAIP Policy Application system and the assigned company, the correct rating territory for the vehicle on the policy must be selected from the drop-down box on the Vehicle Page of the MAIP Policy Application.  Territory definitions may be found in the Rating Territories section of the Massachusetts Private Passenger Residual Market Automobile Insurance Manual which is located on the MAIP Manuals page of CAR's website.

Important!  Boston rating territories are defined by location and ZIP Code, so it is important for producers to check the risk's ZIP Code in order to determine the proper rating territory.  However, note that a portion of Dorchester (Territory 21) ZIP Code 02126 falls within the city of Hyde Park (Territory 20).  In this case, Hyde Park must be selected from the drop-down box.  Refer to the Rating Territories section for the border definition for this specific area.

Vehicle Rating Group (VRG) Assignment

For policies effective April 1, 2011 and subsequent, upon entering a VIN on the Vehicle page, two VRGs are returned; one for collision and one for comprehensive, with codes ranging from 11-50.  For the higher priced vehicle models, where the VRG assigned for either collision or comprehensive is 50, the producer is required to enter the vehicle's base list price in order for the vehicle to be properly rated.  The base list price is defined as the MSRP for the vehicle with no additional options included.  For model years prior to 1985, the producer is required to enter the vehicle's appraised value as these model years will be rated on a Stated Amount basis in accordance with Rule 41 – Stated Amount Coverage of the Massachusetts Private Passenger Residual Market Automobile Insurance Manual.

What if an invalid VIN is entered or a VRG does not exist for the entered VIN? The Policy Application system is not able to determine comprehensive or collision VRGs for policy rating purposes.  You will be prompted to enter the vehicle’s base list price, year and make of the vehicle and the system will assign VRGs and rate the policy based upon the entered information.

Using the MAIP Non-Compliance Function

How do I file a complaint against an ARC for non-compliance with established ARC Performance Standards? File the complaint via the ARC Complaints link which is located on the main MAIP Producer page of CAR's website under the Non-Compliance function heading.

How do I provide my response to an ARP Violation filed by an ARC?  Submit your response via the ARP Violations link which is located on the main MAIP Producer page of CAR's website under the Non-Compliance function heading.

How do I provide supporting documentation for a filed ARP violation?  The MAIP performance standards compliance application, accessible from the Non-Compliance function on the main MAIP Producer page of CAR’s website, has been updated to provide the ability to attach supporting documentation when filing or responding to an alleged non-compliance issue.  Multiple documents may be attached and the attachments are viewable by all parties involved.  A system-generated email notification alerts the parties to the existence of attachments.

Security

If you receive a session timed out message and are unable to access the MAIP secure website:

  1. Launch the Internet Explorer browser.
  2. On the menu at the top of the browser, click on Tools and then Internet Options.
  3. Click on the Delete button in the Browsing history section.
  4. Click on the Delete Cookies button. You may also delete files, forms and passwords from here. Delete files will clean a lot of temporary files off your hard drive and free up space.
  5. Click the Close button to close the Delete Browsing History dialog box and then click OK from the Internet Options dialog box to exit.

Reminders

Once an assignment has been made to an ARC, the applicant must sign the MAIP Application for Massachusetts Automobile Insurance.   No other application is acceptable.

Has your agency been sold?
In accordance with Rule 31.A.3.i of CAR's Rules of Operation, CAR must be notified fifteen days in advance of the proposed closing of any agency sale.  MAIP stamps issued to the agency must be returned to CAR.

Suggestions

Please feel free to provide feedback or suggest future MAIP Messenger topics by contacting Marian Adgate at madgate@commauto.com.

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