Massachusetts Auto & No-Fault Coverage Requirements
This chapter covers the coverage rules a Massachusetts producer must know to place personal auto correctly: the four compulsory coverages, the compulsory liability limits, and Massachusetts's no-fault system with its verbal threshold.
The Four Compulsory Coverages and Limits
A Massachusetts compulsory auto policy includes four coverages: compulsory bodily injury to others; personal injury protection (PIP); bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto (uninsured motorist); and damage to someone else's property. The compulsory limits are $20,000 bodily injury per person, $40,000 per accident, and $5,000 property damage (20/40/5), per the Insurance Information Institute state chart, with uninsured-motorist limits matching the 20/40 bodily-injury limits. These are minimums; verify current figures and the PIP benefit amount with the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.
No-Fault and the Verbal Threshold
Massachusetts is a no-fault state. Personal injury protection pays an insured's own accident-related medical expenses and lost wages regardless of fault, and a verbal (descriptive) threshold limits when an injured party may sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, generally requiring that medical costs exceed a set amount or that the injury be of a specified serious type. Producers should explain that PIP is first-party coverage and that suing for general damages is restricted below the threshold. Confirm the current threshold and PIP amount with the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.