Beginning November 5, 2026, Massachusetts insurers, including non-admitted and surplus lines carriers, will be prohibited from including property and casualty insurance policy provisions that prevent insureds from using public insurance adjusters as a condition of recovering under their policies.
The prohibition is contained in Chapter 187 of the Acts of 2026, An Act Further Regulating Insurance Claims, approved August 7, 2026.
The new law also amends Massachusetts’ unfair claim settlement practices statute, Chapter 176D, to expressly identify policy provisions prohibiting insureds from hiring public adjusters as an unfair claim settlement practice.
The legislation makes such policy restrictions unlawful and unenforceable but does not expressly address how the new prohibition applies to policies already in force.
New Law Expressly Includes Surplus Lines Insurers
Section 1 of Chapter 187 adds a new Section 2C to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 175.
The statute makes it unlawful for an insurance company subject to the provision, including any non-admitted or surplus lines insurer, to include language, forms or endorsements in property and casualty policies that prohibit an insured from hiring, retaining, engaging, utilizing, consulting or contracting with a public insurance adjuster as a condition of recovery.
The legislation expressly provides:
Any such language, form or endorsement shall be unenforceable and shall be excised from the policy of insurance; provided, however, that all remaining policy language, forms and endorsements in the policy shall remain unaffected.
The express inclusion of non-admitted and surplus lines insurers is significant. The prohibition is not limited to admitted insurers whose policy forms are generally subject to review by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.
The statutory language applies to the prohibited policy condition itself, whether it appears in the original policy form or in a separate endorsement.
Massachusetts Already Regulates Public Insurance Adjusters
Chapter 187 incorporates the existing definition of a public insurance adjuster under G.L. c. 175, § 162.
That definition includes persons who, for compensation, undertake to represent insureds in assessing damages, negotiating, settling, appraising or referring losses under specified types of property insurance, other than attorneys acting in the usual course of their profession.
The statute identifies fire insurance, homeowners insurance, commercial multiperil policies, business interruption coverage, fidelity bonds and crime insurance, inland and ocean marine policies, and other forms of property damage insurance.
Public insurance adjusters are already subject to Massachusetts licensing and regulatory requirements under G.L. c. 175, § 172.
Among other requirements, Section 172 establishes licensing qualifications and requires written contracts in approved forms for public-adjuster representation involving specified losses occurring in Massachusetts.
The statute also provides insureds with contractual cancellation rights, including the right to cancel within three calendar days after receiving a copy of the agreement.
Chapter 187 does not change these existing licensing and contractual requirements. Instead, it addresses the ability of insurers to restrict an insured’s use of public-adjuster services through policy provisions.
Anti-Public Adjuster Provisions Added to Unfair Claims Law
Section 2 of Chapter 187 separately amends G.L. c. 176D, § 3(9), which enumerates unfair claim settlement practices.
The amendment adds a new subclause (o), identifying the following as an unfair claim settlement practice:
A provision in any policy of property or casualty insurance that prohibits an insured from hiring a public adjuster for services provided pursuant to this chapter.
The inclusion of these restrictions in Chapter 176D is important because the statute already governs unfair practices in the business of insurance, including claim settlement practices.
The amendment addresses the policy provision itself rather than requiring, in its express language, an actual denial of an insurance claim before the provision constitutes an enumerated unfair practice.
Consequently, the legislation goes beyond declaring anti-public adjuster endorsements unenforceable. It expressly places a prohibition against hiring a public adjuster within the statutory framework governing unfair claim settlement practices.
Potential Implications Under Chapter 93A
The Chapter 176D amendment also raises questions concerning potential liability under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce.
Chapter 176D violations may also give rise to claims under Chapter 93A, subject to the applicable statutory requirements.
A policy endorsement conditioning recovery on an insured’s decision not to retain a licensed public insurance adjuster also raises the broader question of whether such a restriction independently constitutes an unfair or deceptive business practice.
The concern is the use of a policy condition to discourage an insured from obtaining professional assistance in presenting and negotiating an insurance claim.
Chapter 187 now expressly prohibits that particular type of restriction. Whether the inclusion or attempted enforcement of such an endorsement also establishes an independent Chapter 93A violation, and what remedies may be available, depends upon the applicable statutory provisions and circumstances.
The new law does not expressly provide that every violation automatically entitles an insured to damages or attorney’s fees under Chapter 93A.
What Happens to Existing Insurance Policies?
One question left unresolved by Chapter 187 concerns anti-public adjuster endorsements contained in policies issued before the November 5 effective date.
The legislation contains no express applicability provision limiting the prohibition to policies issued, delivered or renewed on or after that date.
Neither does it expressly state whether provisions contained in existing policies become unenforceable when the statute takes effect.
The statute’s language requiring prohibited provisions to be excised from insurance policies may give rise to questions when an insurer seeks to enforce an endorsement originally included in a policy before November 5.
Massachusetts law generally distinguishes the prospective application of new statutory requirements from retroactive changes affecting existing contractual rights. Chapter 187 does not expressly resolve that distinction for previously issued policies.
Implications for Massachusetts Insurers and Insurance Producers
For insurers and managing general agents, Chapter 187 establishes a prohibition against using policy language that conditions an insured’s recovery on foregoing the services of a public insurance adjuster.
The law’s express application to non-admitted and surplus lines insurers makes it relevant to insurance placements outside the admitted market, as well as policies issued by admitted carriers.
Insurance agents and brokers placing affected coverage should also be familiar with the prohibition, particularly where policies contain endorsements limiting an insured’s use of public-adjuster services.
Beginning November 5, the statutory prohibition will take effect. Questions concerning its application to previously issued policies and the availability of additional remedies under Chapter 93A remain separate legal issues.
