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Unlike some other states, Massachusetts requires that every vehicle on the road to be covered by a minimum amount of insurance. Letting your insurance policy lapse will result in the automatic revocation of your vehicle’s registration and an operating an uninsured motor vehicle conviction will cause the Registry of Motor Vehicles to suspend your driver’s license. Therefore, the Mass. RMV does not require SR-22 insurance certificates, as every vehicle registered in Massachusetts is required to have insurance.
The Massachusetts Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP) is used by some companies to set your insurance premiums based on steps. Under this plan, which has been approved by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, if you receive automobile law violations, DUI convictions, or at fault accident surcharges, your insurance premium will increase. Likewise, years of incident free driving may lower your step and resulting automobile insurance bill.
Under the SDIP, Step 9 is the lowest and Step 15 is considered the “neutral step,” where neither credits nor charges are applied. For every surchargeable accident or traffic violation, a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 steps will be assigned. Major violations such as operating under the influence convictions can result in a 5 step increase, which represents a major increase in the amount you will pay for car insurance in Massachusetts.
When calculating your car insurance rate in Massachusetts, it is illegal for an insurance company to consider any surchargeable accident or motor vehicle offense which resulted in a conviction or surcharge that is more than 6 years prior to the effective date of the insurance policy.
It is also illegal for Massachusetts insurance companies to increase your insurance premiums for surchargeable accidents or moving violation convictions which are more than 5 years old.
Insurance companies can develop their own merit rating plans and, so long as their plans are approved by the Division of Insurance, they are not required to use the SDIP. Regardless of whether your company uses the SDIP or its own plan, tickets and surchargeable events will generally cause your insurance bill to increase and the premiums for those with a DUI conviction can be substantial.
Surchargeable events include at fault accidents, DUI drug or alcohol program assignments, and responsible findings or convictions for motor vehicle law violations such as speeding or driving while suspended. Insurance companies use these events to increase your premiums and the Registry uses them to impose license suspensions such as those for 7 surchargeable events.
The Massachusetts Merit Rating Board maintains records which are used to determine your insurance premium. You and your lawyer have the legal right to inspect these records to ensure their accuracy. If you need legal assistance in dealing with a surchargeable event suspension, I urge you to contact my office for a free review of your case.