Massachusetts Division of Insurance Gets a “C-” In State Integrity Investigation

Massachusetts’ Division of Insurance received a “C-” while the overall grade for Massachusetts was a “C”

The State Integrity Investigation, a partnership of the Center of Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International touts itself as “…an unprecedented, data-driven analysis of each state’s laws and practices that deter corruption and promote accountability and openness.” Assigned journalists in each state were given the task of researching 330 “Corruption Risk Indicators” across 14 different government categories. Those categories include: access to information, campaign finance, executive accountability, legislative accountability, judicial accountability, budgeting, civil-service management, procurement, internal auditing, lobbying disclosure, pension fund management, ethics enforcement, insurance commissions, and redistricting.

In Massachusetts, Maggie Mulvihill was the journalist charged with examining and grading the Commonwealth. She is the co-director and senior investigator producer for the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and an award-winning journalist.  Her biography states that she has worked for more than 20-years in print and broadcast reporting in New England, specializing in investigative journalism. In addition, Ms. Mulvihill serves on the Steering Committee of the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington D.C. She was a 2004-2005 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, focusing on government secrecy and its implications for news organizations. She also serves on the board of directors of the New England First Amendment Coalition and has taught journalism at the Harvard University Summer School and Emerson College. She is a clinical professor of Journalism at Boston University.

A look at what the report card says about The Massachusetts Division of Insurance

Most interestingly for Agency Checklists was that the State Integrity Investigation examined and graded each state’s Insurance Commission. The study’s goal in evaluating each state’s insurance commission was to investigate “…whether the insurance regulatory structure in each state is effective, adequately funded, and independent.”

For those who would like to see what exactly was evaluated or would like to compare Massachusetts against another state, an interactive guide is available on The State Integrity Investigation site.

The following is a compilation of the grade each state’s insurance commissioner received