Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 211 CMR - DIVISION OF INSURANCE › Title 211 CMR 79.00 - Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance Rates › Section 79.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in
				211 CMR 79.00, the following
				words and phrases shall mean:
Advisory Filing
. A filing of Rates,
				Rating Factors or relativities, Classification Plans, or Rating Manuals,
				together with Supporting Information, prepared in accordance with
				211 CMR
				79.09 by a Rating Organization. An Advisory
				Filing shall not be deemed a Rate Filing under M.G.L. c. 175E, § 7 until a
				filer submits a Rate Filing to adopt an Advisory Filing, in whole or in part,
				as of a specified effective date.
CAR
or
Commonwealth
				Automobile Reinsurers
. The operator of the plan established
				pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, § 113H that serves as the Residual Market
				mechanism for motor vehicle insurance.
CAR ID Codes
. The codes as defined in
				the Commissioner of Insurance's statistical plan for private passenger motor
				vehicle insurance required by M.G.L. c. 175A.
Classification
. The process of
				grouping risks with similar risk characteristics so that differences in costs
				may be recognized.
Classification Plan
. Any plan,
				definition or rule for the classification of risks including, without
				limitation, Classification by territory, driver or vehicle characteristics or
				use, and experience rating or Merit Rating plans.
Commissioner
. The Commissioner of
				Insurance, appointed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 26, § 6, or his or her
				designee.
Competitive Market
. A market where
				private passenger motor vehicle insurance rates are not fixed and established
				pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, § 113B.
Division
. The Division of Insurance
				created pursuant to M.G.L. c. 26, § 1.
Expenses
. That portion of a rate
				attributable to acquisition, field supervision, collection expenses, general
				expenses, taxes, licenses, commissions, residual market loads and fees.
Filer
. The Insurer, Insurance Company
				Group or Rating Organization that files the Rate or Advisory Filing at
				issue.
Insurance Company Group
. Two or more
				Insurers under the same ownership or control, as defined in M.G.L. c. 175,
				§ 206.
Insurer
. Any corporation, association,
				partnership, group or individual authorized to write private passenger motor
				vehicle insurance in Massachusetts.
Merit Rating
. A rating procedure
				utilizing past motor vehicle accident and traffic violation experience of the
				operators insured under the policy to forecast future losses by measuring their
				loss experience against the loss experience of operators in the same
				Classification to produce a prospective premium credit, debit or unity
				modification.
Party
. The Filer of a Rate Filing that
				is the subject of a hearing, or has a statutory right to request a hearing
				pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175E, § 7.
Premium
. The final cost of a policy,
				or coverage within a policy, to an individual policyholder based on the
				particular drivers and motor vehicles insured under the policy.
Presiding Officer
. The Commissioner or
				any person designated by the Commissioner to conduct hearings and related
				proceedings and to render findings, rulings and decisions.
Rate
. The cost of insurance per
				exposure unit, whether expressed as a single number or as a prospective loss
				cost with a factor to incorporate an individual Insurer's Expenses, profit, and
				variation in loss experience, prior to any application of individual risk
				variations based on loss or expense considerations, and does not include
				minimum Premium.
Rate Filing
. A filing of Rates, Rating
				Factors or relativities, Classification Plans, or Rating Manuals, together with
				Supporting Information, prepared by an Insurer Insurance Company Group or
				Rating Organization and filed in accordance with M.G.L. c. 175E, §
				7.
Rating Factor
. A number that is
				greater than zero that is applied to a Rate to reflect the specific
				characteristics of the risk, including but not limited to, rating territory,
				driver or vehicle characteristics, Merit Rating plan, coverage level, and
				deductible option.
Rating Manual
. Any manual of rules and
				rating procedures applicable to any insurance coverage subject to M.G.L. c.
				175E. A Rating Manual shall not include final Rates for any Classification Plan
				or coverage, but may include rules for the calculation of Premiums from
				information outside the manual.
Rating Organization
. A rating
				organization duly licensed under M.G.L. c. 175A, § 8.
Residual Market
. The private passenger
				motor vehicles that are insured through policies issued pursuant to M.G.L. c.
				175, § 113H and assigned to an Insurer through the Massachusetts
				Automobile Insurance Plan.
Residual Market Rate Filing
. A filing
				of Rates, Rating Factors or relativities, Classification Plans, or Rating
				Manuals, together with Supporting Information prepared or submitted by or on
				behalf of CAR and filed in accordance with M.G.L. c. 175, §
				113H(D).
Statistical Information
. Loss and
				expense experience including, but not limited to, data filed in accordance with
				statistical plans or reporting requirements approved or promulgated by the
				Commissioner and any compilation or display of such data. For purposes of
				M.G.L. c. 175E, § 6(a)(2), Statistical Information includes, but is not
				limited to, Premiums, exposures, loss pure premiums, development factors,
				average claim cost and frequency trend factors, claim adjustment expense
				factors, company and commission expense pure premiums, expense trend factors,
				and miscellaneous Rate level factors including, but not limited to, increased
				limits, deductible and minor coverage factors, and territorial, class and model
				year/symbol relativities.
Supporting Information
.
(a) the experience and judgment of the Filer and the experience
				or data of other Insurers or others relied upon by the Filer;
(b) the interpretation of any other data relied upon by the
				Filer;
(c) descriptions of methods used in making the Rates;
				and
(d) any other information relied on by the Filer in support of
				its Filing, as the Commissioner may require to be filed.
Trending
. Any procedure for projecting
				losses to the average date of loss, or Premiums or exposures to the average
				date of writing, for the period during which the Rates are to be
				effective.
Under One-percent Company
. An Insurer
				writing less than one percent of the private passenger motor vehicle insurance
				in Massachusetts, as determined by comparing the total written premium of each
				Insurer for private passenger motor vehicle insurance, as reported in the
				Insurer's most recent annual statement, with the total premiums written by all
				Insurers for private passenger motor vehicle insurance coverage.
Voluntary Market
. The private
				passenger motor vehicles that are not insured through policies issued in the
				Residual Market.