MassPirg seems to be actively campaigning against the Massachusetts insurance market from joining the rest of the country:
Just days after a new Governor was elected, Romney�s Insurance Commissioner, Julianne Bowler, is set to hold a hearing on her proposal to revamp the way drivers are insured. The new “assigned risk plan” would allow insurers to reject drivers � even those with perfect driving records — based on non-driving factors such as credit scores, income, education, and home ownership.
The best estimate is that over a million drivers, including hundreds of thousands of drivers with clean driving records, would be rejected under the Commissioner�s proposal. Rejected drivers would be randomly assigned to another insurer. As a result, they would lose the freedom to choose their insurer, would be subject to discriminatory underwriting practices, and, in many instances, would face higher insurance costs.
I’d actually look at this as an emerging potential that personal auto insurers in Massachusetts are looking at possibly seeing a more equitable mechanism in how they will be burdened with unprofitable risks.
There’s concern that the alleged right of a consumer to be insured by any insurer he/she chooses will be infringed. One wonders why that “right” shouldn’t be a two-way street.
You know, I understand and am not completely unreceptive to the idea of relatively tight regulation when it comes to mandatory coverage. However, over-regulating the market when it comes to coverage excess of minimum legal requirements is more likely to drive insurers away from the market, reducing capacity or incentive to compete.
And, well, how many auto insurers are we down to in Massachusetts these days? Do Bostonians know the lore of the Gecko?
