Overhaulin'

Progressive is hiking my Massachusetts car insurance rate by 23% this year! Is that normal?

My policy is about to come up for renewal and they're going to hike up my rate by 23%! I just talked to their customer service person and she said they're doing it all over Massachusetts. Are all the car insurance companies raising their rates so much in Massachusetts? Was there some law that passed which changed their profit margin or something? Is there another car insurance company that will give me a better deal?

Public Comments

1. get auto insurance in your area and work the phones/insurance is local and you may get better rates
2. The MA insurance market opened up a couple years ago and loads of new companies came in to sell insurance. The "competition phase" is over. Every insurance company will be raising their rates in MA over the coming year to make up for the inflated fees charged by the shops and garages. It costs approximately 33% more for an insurance company to fix a car in MA than it does in any of the neighboring states!
3. Mass is one of the toughest states to provide auto insurance to. The insurance commissioner only allows rate increases sporadically . So when a carrier is granted a rate increase they take it. The 23% increase is most likely an aggregate of state rates + driver violations (any new tickets or accidents?) + any change in vehicle coverage? All these items will effect your final premium for the renewal term.