State Farm, Fireman's Fund, Quincy Mutual, Praetorian, Safety, OneBeacon, Amica and Farm Family can offer the rates, discounts and coverage options they filed for at late November deadlines, said Burnes in a statement. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance oversaw a review of each filing by an experienced actuarial firm, said Burnes.
"After painstaking review, we have concluded that these insurers have fulfilled the Division's requirements and should be allowed to compete for their customers by offering better rates, products and choices," Burnes said.
Burnes said her staff will continue to evaluate the remaining 11 filings. Burnes also announced the following schedule of rate hearings: Commerce Group, Jan. 9; Safety, Jan. 11; Premier Insurance, Jan. 14; Hanover Insurance, Jan. 16; and Arbella Insurance, Jan. 18. The hearings were recommended by Attorney General Martha Coakley. The companies are permitted to use rates accepted by the division while the outcomes of hearings are pending.
The state's 19 insurance companies filed new rates on Nov. 19 and amended them Nov. 27 under the new system. Rates had previously been set by the insurance commissioner for about 30 years.
Burnes has said the average rate reduction for the policies, when the new system goes into effect April 1, is 7.8%. Coakley has said Burnes would have dropped rates 10% to 11% statewide if she was still setting rates for all companies.
The top five writers of private passenger auto insurance in Massachusetts last year, according to A.M. Best Co. state/line data, were: Commerce Group, with a 31.5% market share; Safety Group, with 11.2%; Arbella Insurance Group, with 9.6%; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., with 7.7%; and MetLife Auto & Home Group, with 7.1%.