Mayor, City Council Oppose Insurance Increase

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell today released a letter to the Massachusetts Insurance Commission expressing his strong opposition to the proposed rate changes under the FAIR Plan.  The Mayor was joined in signing the letter by the entire New Bedford City Council.  The brunt of the proposed rate hike would fall on New Bedford homeowners, while leaving those from other towns with minimal increases.

The letter notes, “the FAIR Plan would ask New Bedford residents to shoulder a 10% rate increase in their homeowners insurance, while the proposed rate increase for the rest of Bristol County (excluding Fall River) is only 4.2%.”

Mayor Mitchell and the City Council took aim at the proposed new “profit provision” that will generate $15 million in additional profits for private insurers on the backs of the consumers.   The letter calls the proposed increases for New Bedford property owners, “unfair, excessive, and unjustified.”

The FAIR Plan was created by the State Legislature to provide property owners in Massachusetts who are rejected by the private insurance market with the opportunity to obtain homeowners insurance at a reasonable rate.  All private insurers in Massachusetts are obligated to participate in the FAIR Plan.