While the number of Massachusetts car insurance requirements is high, some of the actual required coverage amounts are ridiculously low.

A small state with big insurance requirements.

Massachusetts requires 4 separate insurance coverages for its drivers before they can hit the road. Now, compared to other states that only require 2 coverages this may seem to be a lot more coverage; but the numbers may surprise you. While there are a higher number of separate coverages required, the amounts that are required for each of the coverages is only average or much lower than other states require.

Massachusetts Car Insurance Requirements

The first coverage that you are required to carry is bodily injury liability coverage. This coverage pays for the injuries you cause to other drivers. For Massachusetts car insurance you are allowed to carry no less than $20,000 in coverage for the medical expenses of one person. You also can have no less than $40,000 in coverage for all medical expenses that result from an accident where you injure more than just one person. This is about average compared to what other states require.

The coverage that pays for your injuries, regardless of who caused the accident, is personal injury protection (PIP). You are allowed to purchase no less than $8,000 of coverage; which also runs about average with the states that actually require this coverage.

Uninsured Motorist coverage is also required with Massachusetts car insurance at the same minimum limits as bodily injury liability coverage. However, this coverage is not to cover another person; this is to protect you. In the event you are in an accident with a hit-and-run driver or a person that has no insurance, this coverage will pay for your medical expenses.

Now, I have saved the most ridiculous for last. With all of the coverage you are required to buy for your Massachusetts car insurance, you would think that it would be because Massachusetts is a state that is being overly protective of their drivers and resources.

However, when you look at the big picture, all of the required coverage is for medical expenses; except one. So, they are just protecting themselves and the medical profession that lobbies the state government from having to be stuck with medical expenses from car accidents that people cannot pay.

How else would you explain that with all of the coverage they require for medical expenses that they only require people to carry a laughable minimum amount of $5,000 in coverage for property damage you may cause?

Massachusetts Car Insurance Managed Competition

In 2008, the insurance industry in Massachusetts was essentially set free by a new process called “managed competition”; in other words, they were deregulated.

What does this mean? It means that the insurance companies that wrote insurance in the state were given the freedom to set their own insurance rates, instead of having the rates regulated by the state.

So, insurance companies set rates to where they saw fit, dropped and added discounts, and started rating drivers by different factors than what was previous allowed by the state. This meant that a lot of drivers saw an increase in their Massachusetts car insurance premiums.

Shop Around for Massachusetts Car Insurance

With managed competition every insurance company now has largely different premiums, discounts, and programs. So, the premium you are quoted from one insurance company can be nothing like the quote you get from the next insurance company.

Managed competition makes it so very important that you never settle with your first quote. You need to shop around for no less than 3 different Massachusetts car insurance quotes before you settle for the right coverage and premium.

MetLife Insurance brings us back to the whole reason we purchase insurance in the first place.

Summary

Announcer: As a new car owner you face a lot of big ifs: if you can’t avoid every obstacle, if you can’t avoid every hazard, if your current insurance doesn’t provide full replacement coverage. With MetLife auto and home you’re automatically covered at no additional cost for a full year, with no depreciation.

One more way we help you build a personal safety net with guarantees for the road ahead. Call on our expertise and we will help you navigate the “ifs” in life.

As the announcer speaks we watch Snoopy drive from the sales lot with his new vehicle and successfully avoid all the “ifs” that life can throw at him in this commercial.

Point of Commercial

This is a classic insurance commercial. MetLife Insurance doesn’t proclaim that they are the cheapest, the fastest at getting you a quote or even the biggest insurance company out there. They cutely tell you that they will be there for you “if” something bad happens to you in your vehicle.

Helping you during an accident is the exact reason we purchase car insurance and MetLife Insurance is playing on that point.

What They Want you to Do

MetLife Insurance wants you mostly to trust that they will be there for you if you choose them as your insurance company. They don’t push any certain method of contact through the commercial as you don’t actually get any contact information until the end of the commercial.

At the end the announcer makes a casual mention of calling them (classic call to action in a commercial) and then the end screen provides a 2 second shot of all the different methods they can be reached. These 2 seconds is just enough to register that the information is there, but not enough to write it down or remember them all.

My Opinion

This MetLife Insurance commercial is simple, cute, endearing (who doesn’t like Snoopy) and to the point. In other words, it provides entertainment while at the same time being clear as to what the commercial is selling.

I like commercials like these because then I don’t have to scratch my head after the commercial and wonder how in the world the commercial had anything to do with the product they were trying to sell.

I give this MetLife Insurance commercial two thumbs up.

Maryland car insurance verifies your insurance cancellation electronically, but requires a form to verify you have it.

Follow the exact directions you are given to verify Maryland car insurance.

Maryland car insurance requirements run a little higher than normal for what they require for bodily injury liability coverage, but about average for the required property damage liability coverage. Their insurance verification system however, is unique and can be tedious for both drivers and insurance companies. Unfortunately, if you fail to follow this Maryland car insurance verification system that the Motor Vehicle Administration has in place, stiff penalties await.

Required Maryland Car Insurance

Across the nation the property damage liability coverage that is required is always lower than what is required for bodily injury liability coverage. Maryland car insurance follows the same pattern and requires:

• $30,000 for bodily injury per person,

• $60,000 for bodily injury for two or more people, and

• $15,000 for property damage.

When you purchase this coverage, always discuss with your insurance agent if buying the minimum Maryland car insurance required is enough to protect you.

Penalties for no Maryland Car Insurance

If you are trying to get out of having to pay for Maryland car insurance and avoid getting caught for having no Maryland car insurance; the idea to forge your proof of insurance may come to your mind. As a strong word of advice, don’t listen to the idea in your head. Getting caught for providing false Maryland car insurance evidence will land you in jail for a year or with a $1000 fine (or both).

Now, if you don’t provide false proof of Maryland car insurance and just don’t provide any proof of insurance at all; it will be much easier on you. You will only face having your plates and registration suspended, $150 in fines for the first 30 days you are without insurance (after 30 days it is $7 a day), and cannot register any new vehicles or renew the registration on an already owned vehicle.

But hey, there’s no jail time involved.

Maryland Car Insurance FR-19

When the state requests proof of Maryland car insurance the only proof that they will accept is a FR-19 form. This request is usually triggered by cancelling your car insurance with a company, but can also be a result of buying a new vehicle or trading one in.

Insurance companies don’t notify the state when you have new insurance, only when you have cancelled insurance. This means that the state only knows that you no longer have the required insurance coverage; they don’t know that you replaced the coverage that you cancelled. Hence, the reason they need to verify that you have new coverage.

The requested FR-19 form can only be filled out by your insurance company. If your insurance company does not send the required FR-19 form then you are the one that will be penalized, so it is very important to contact your insurance company immediately to have them send the form.

It is also important to follow up with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to make sure they received your FR-19 to verify you Maryland car insurance coverage.

Jerry has another interesting accident, but apparently didn’t make changes to his insurance coverage after the pole incident.

Summary

Commercial opens with the State Farm agent, Jessica, in her office. On the screen are the words “State of Savings”.

Jessica: State Farm this is Jessica.

Jerry: Hey Jessica, Jerry Neuman. I know I dropped you guys for the whole 15-minute sign up thing, but I’m having second thoughts right about now. Is now a good time to start a new policy?

Jessica: Is your car up a pole again?

Jerry: (laughing) You’re funny. No it’s in the garage; it’s not going anywhere.

Here we see Jerry’s car with the front end sticking out one side of the corner of the garage and the back end sticking out the other side of the corner of the garage.

Jessica: Well you could switch back to State Farm for auto. On average people do save 480 dollars.

On screen is the $480 with “Switch and Save” above it as well as a disclaimer below it. The disclaimer reads “Average annual per household savings based on a 2010 national survey of new policy holders who reported savings by switching to State Farm”.

Jerry: Really?!?!

Jessica: Yep, and nobody gives more discounts to more drivers. Like the multi-car discount.

Jerry: Multi car? Is that for a person with one car, but multiple accidents? ‘Cause that might really interest me.

Jessica: Not exactly, but that savings could get even bigger when you combine your auto and your home.

Jerry: Awesome, I just combined them.

Jessica: You did what Jerry?

Jerry’s car finishes rolling onto its side, taking out the corner of the garage that was still standing at the beginning.

Jerry: Actually I’m going to have to call you back.

Jessica: Anytime. Our call center is available 24/7 at 1-800-State Farm. With discounts like these, State Farm is the only quote you’ll ever need.

Jerry: Actually I’m going to need a quote for a stone mason.

Announcer: You could save an average of 480 dollars on auto. Get to a better state and a better rate, call 1-800-state-farm today.

Point of Commercial

Jerry is brought back again for another not-so-subtle jab at GEICO. State Farm wants to point out that they can save you money just like GEICO claims to, but that with State Farm you will have an agent to help you. With GEICO you don’t get that agent assistance as you purchase the insurance coverage directly through them.

What They Want you to Do

State Farm wants you to call them. Not call your local agent (which is surprising) or visit their website, but call them. This is very evident with how many times they tell you the phone number as well as their phone number being on the screen for 95% of the commercial.

My Opinion

Honestly, I would love to see more Jerry commercials. Not because I am a big fan of State Farm, but I want to see how many other ridiculous accidents the writers can come up with for him.

The commercial is memorable, which makes State Farm stick out in your head. It is also getting people talking, as you can see by the discussion thread from the last State Farm Jerry commercial I posted. Both of these things mean that the commercial is effective.

I give this commercial two thumbs up.

The amounts of coverage required for Maine car insurance are some of the highest in the nation.

Just like a lighthouse, Maine car insurance requirements sit high above what other states require.

The state of Maine has very high insurance requirements for its drivers. Most states only require 2 coverages (bodily injury and property damage liability) for their drivers to be able to drive. Maine on the other hand requires 5 separate coverages to be purchased and is among the few states that have this many coverage requirements.

On top of the number of coverages required, they also have some of the highest liability limit requirements in the nation.

Mandatory Maine Car Insurance Liability Coverage

Liability coverage is mandatory in almost all of the states across the nation, but Maine car insurance is at the top of the list as far as the high amounts required for bodily injury liability coverage. While most states usually require 25/50 limits for their bodily injury coverage, Maine requires that their drivers carry 50/100.

What exactly does 50/100 mean? It means that you have to carry no less than $50,000 in coverage for the medical bills that another person may have after you injure them in a car accident that is your fault. If there are two or more people injured in an accident that you are at fault for, you have to have $100,000 in coverage on your insurance to pay for all of the medical bills together. These limits are the minimum you are allowed to buy, but are the maximum your insurance company will pay if an accident does happen.

The requirements for property damage liability coverage on a Maine car insurance policy are really no more or less than most other states require. The minimum limit that you can buy for this coverage is $25,000 and it covers the damages you do with your vehicle, to property you do not own.

Mandatory Maine Car Insurance UM/UIM Coverage

UM/UIM stands for uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist coverage. These coverages protect you from other drivers that flee the scene of an accident, don’t have insurance or don’t have enough insurance. It only pays for the expenses that result from injuries and does not cover the damages that may be done to your vehicle.

You can have no less than 50/100 for your UM/UIM limits, just like with the bodily injury liability coverage. If you have more than 50/100 for your bodily injury liability coverage, your UM/UIM has to be the same. There is a form you can sign with your agent though, that will allow you to carry lower limits than your bodily injury liability limits; but the UM/UIM coverage still cannot fall below 50/100.

Mandatory Maine Car Insurance MedPay Coverage

MedPay (Medical Payments) coverage is for expenses that arise from injuries you received from a car accident. It is available for you to use regardless of who is found to be at fault for the accident you were in.

With MedPay you are required to carry no less than $2000 in this coverage on your Maine car insurance policy.