Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 113A of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1988 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out provision (2) and inserting in place thereof the following provision:-

(2) That, except as otherwise provided in provision (2)A and in section one hundred and thirteen D, no cancellation of the policy, whether by the company or by the insured, shall be valid unless written notice thereof is given by the party proposing cancellation to the other party giving the specific reason or reasons for such cancellation at least twenty days in each case prior to the intended effective date thereof, which date shall be expressed in said notice, and that such notice of cancellation sent by the company to the insured and return premium, if any, shall be delivered in hand to the named insured, or be left at his last address, at his last business, residence or other address known to the company, or be forwarded to said address by first class mail, postage prepaid, and a notice left or forwarded, as aforesaid, shall be deemed a sufficient notice. No written notice of cancellation shall be deemed effective when mailed by the company unless the company obtains a certificate of mailing receipt from the United States Postal Service showing the name and address of the insured stated in the policy. Furthermore, an affidavit of any officer, agent or employee of the company, duly authorized for the purpose, that he has so sent such notice addressed as aforesaid shall be prima facie evidence of the sending thereof as aforesaid; together with a provision that, in the event of a cancellation by the insured, he shall, if he has paid the premium on the policy to the company or to its agent who issued the policy, or to the duly licensed insurance broker, if any, by whom the policy was negotiated be entitled to receive a return premium after deducting the monthly short rates as determined by the commissioner for the time the policy shall have been in force, or in the event of cancellation by the company, the insured shall, if he has paid the premium as aforesaid, be entitled to receive a return premium calculated on a pro rata basis; provided, however, that if the insured after the sending of a notice of cancellation by the company, or after giving such notice to the company, files a new certificate under section thirty-four H of chapter ninety prior to the intended effective date of such cancellation, the filing of said certificate shall operate to terminate the policy on the date of said filing, and the return premium, if any, payable to the insured shall be computed as of the date of said filing, instead of the intended effective date of cancellation expressed in the notice thereof; provided, further, that if the final effective date of a cancellation by the company is fixed by an order of the board of appeal on motor vehicle liability policies and bonds or of the superior court, or a justice thereof, as provided in section one hundred and thirteen D, the return premium, if any, payable to the insured shall be computed as of the final effective date; and provided, further, that said cancellation shall not become effective unless the company or an insurance premium finance agency licensed under the provisions of chapter two hundred and fifty-five C has, immediately upon the intended effective date of the cancellation of the policy, whether proposed by the company or by the insured, forwarded to the registrar of motor vehicles a notice, in such form as he may prescribe, containing such information to apprise the registrar of the particular motor vehicle registration on which the insurance is intended to be cancelled. If the reason for cancellation is for nonpayment of premium, the notice of cancellation provided for in this provision shall state the amount of the deficiency of the premium owed the company for all the insurance provided and shall state in substance that the cancellation will not be effective if the insured pays the full amount of such deficiency on or prior to the effective date of the cancellation. The fact that an insurance agent or broker has paid the full premium to the company but has himself not been paid by the insured shall not operate to prevent cancellation for nonpayment of premium.

SECTION 2. The first paragraph of section 187C of said chapter 175, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following two sentences:- Such notice and return premium, if any, shall be delivered in hand to the named insured, or be left at his last address as shown by the company's records or, if its records contain no such address, at his last business, residence or other address known to the company, or be forwarded to said address by first class mail, postage prepaid, and a notice left or forwarded, as aforesaid, shall be deemed a sufficient notice. No written notice of cancellation shall be deemed effective when mailed by the company unless the company obtains a certificate of mailing receipt from the United States Postal Service showing the name and address of the insured stated in the policy.