Bill > S527

This bill proposes to amend Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 6C, Section 57A, Clause (b), which deals with surcharges for at-fault accidents in motor vehicle insurance. Specifically, it aims to increase the threshold for what is considered a "minor accident" for the purpose of these surcharges. Currently, a minor accident is defined by the amount paid by the insurer, excluding any deductible. This bill inserts new language to define a minor accident as one where the claim payment, again excluding the deductible, is more than $1,000 but no more than $5,000. This definition applies to claims under property damage liability coverage, collision coverage, limited collision coverage, and, for accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2006, bodily injury liability coverage, provided there isn't a separate surchargeable property damage or collision claim resulting from the same incident. The context here is that insurers often apply surcharges to insurance premiums following at-fault accidents, and this change would mean that accidents with claim payments between $1,000 and $5,000 would be considered minor and potentially not trigger a surcharge, depending on the specific coverage involved.