Insurance agents forced into competition

Service is worth as much as low rates, according to independent insurance agents struggling to survive in Massachusetts’ wide open car insurance market.Sweeping changes in how insurance is regulated opened the door to competition last April and prompted insurers to offer discounts ranging from “good student” credits to disappearing deductibles.Independent agents like Elizabeth S. Puleo worry they could lose a third of their customers to companies not represented by their agencies. But drivers shopping for good deals also need to weigh the value of quick and efficient service, she said.”We’re trying to offer people what they need,” she said.Plymouth Rock Insurance executive Paula Gold will offer Revere Chamber of Commerce members her perspective on the changes Dec. 11 at 7:30 a.m. at Antonia’s Restaurant on Revere Beach.Local agent Daniel Rizzo said consumer choice has replaced restrictions like driver’s address, experience and other factors in determining insurance rates.But Puleo and Rizzo said driver incentives like price breaks for students who maintain high grade point averages and half-year policies should be weighed against coverage needs.”People can shop around for coverage but we put a high premium on service. It’s a word that’s become a cliché but people want someone who will help them, not an 800 number to call,” Rizzo said.The competition for local drivers’ insurance dollars follows a four-year effort to reduce rates by cracking down on insurance fraud.A campaign run by local police, district attorneys and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts includes rewards up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in auto fraud.Beginning in July 2004 when it launched Lynn’s anti-fraud campaign, the Bureau has helped bring charges against 15 local individuals for attempting to commit insurance fraud.Revere police and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley followed Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s lead in forming a fraud investigation task force with the help of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.Before the anti-fraud campaign began, Bureau statistics indicated Revere was among the communities with the highest rates of auto accidents and injuries in Massachusetts and, consequently, among the highest costs for auto insurance.