Mass. Motorcycle Owners to Receive $14.6M in Refunds

Thousands of Massachusetts motorcycle owners will receive a total of $14.6 million in insurance refunds as a result of a settlement with Commerce Insurance Company after allegedly being overcharged on their policies. The settlement was announced by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Under the terms of the settlement with Commerce, which was filed on July 7 in Suffolk Superior Court, Commerce will pay $14.6 million in refunds on over 40,000 insurance policies, and $325,000 to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Later this month, Commerce will start sending out refund checks ranging from less than $50 to more than $12,000 per consumer, with an average check around $360.

According to the settlement, Commerce allegedly overcharged certain customers between 2002 and 2011 by using inflated and un-depreciated motorcycle values to calculate insurance premiums. Commerce revised its business practices in 2005 in an effort to comply with required rating procedures, but the attorney general’s office said its investigation found that some overcharges occurred even after 2006.

The attorney general’s office said it has now obtained a total of $57.4 million for consumers as a result of its four-year motorcycle insurance investigation. The probe has led to settlements with 19 insurance companies since 2010, and generated refunds on over 150,000 Massachusetts policies.