The next step is to obtain approval from the Commissioner of Insurance
At its meeting on September 18, 2013, the CAR Governing Committee approved a new type of notice which permits an assigned risk carrier (ARC) to refuse to write an insured voluntarily at the end of the MAIP’s three-year assignment period. As a result, brokers and agents should become familiar with the form for the new assignment expiration notice. Beginning on April 15, 2014, ARCs terminating a MAIP insured at the end of the assignment period will no longer send the standard notice required by statute (G.L. c. 175, §113F). Instead, a new special non-renewal notice will be used entitled:
“Notice of Expiration of Policy Assignment Massachusetts Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Policy” (‘assignment expiration notice’)
The new notice still requires final approval from the Commissioner of Insurance. If approved, the Expiration of Policy Assignment will become effective on April 15, 2014. Thereafter the assignment expiration notice will be the required notice for ARCs refusing to write MAIP risks at the end of the three-year assignment period. The assignment expiration notice has the same 45-day notice requirement as the standard intent not to renew notice, so the first issued notices will not actually terminate any policies before June 2014.
Approval likely as Division of Insurance requested the new CAR assignment expiration notice
Following the Governing Committee’s approval, CAR filed the new assignment expiration notice and its rule changes with the Commissioner as required under CAR’s enabling statute (G.L. c. 175, §113H). Approval of the assignment expiration notice and the new rules seem pro forma, however, as the Division of Insurance drafted the original form of the proposed notice and requested CAR to review and adopt it.
The assignment expiration notice is intended to standardize the procedure and to eliminate any confusion over the various reasons being used presently by ARCs to non-renew on the expiration of an insured’s MAIP policy at the end of its three-year assignment period. After the CAR rule changes become effective, the standard reason on all ARC assignment expiration notices will be:
“We are notifying you that your policy will not be renewed when it expires because our three-year obligation to provide insurance to you expires at that time.”
Otherwise the assignment expiration notice more or less tracks the present statutory format of intents-not-to-renew issued under G.L. c. 175, §113F.
For more information, this link leads to the MAIPs new assignment expiration notice from CAR.
