What car insurance costs in Massachusetts

Massachusetts premiums next to the national figures

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adds up what insurers in each state collected and divides it by the cars they covered. For 2023, the most recent year it reports by state, the Massachusetts average expenditure was $1,326 per insured car. That is 12% more than the $1,181 recorded for 2022, a rise a little smaller than the national one.

The lines pull in different directions. Collision runs about 12% above the U.S. average, while comprehensive, which covers theft, fire, falling objects and weather, is about 23% below it. Liability lands just under the national number. Because the average expenditure mixes liability-only cars with fully covered ones, it can sit above the U.S. figure even when the full-coverage premium sits below it. What you pay depends on your own record, car and town; see how where you live affects a price.

The four coverages every policy must include

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance lists four compulsory parts of an auto policy. As of July 1, 2025, the state raised the minimum amounts for bodily injury and property damage, so a policy written today has to carry at least:

• Bodily injury to others: $25,000 per person and $50,000 when more than one person is hurt.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): medical expenses, up to 75% of lost wages and replacement services, up to a limit of $8,000.
• Bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto: $25,000 per person and $50,000 for everyone hurt in the accident.
• Damage to someone else's property: $30,000.

Everything else is optional: higher bodily injury limits, underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, collision, comprehensive, rental and towing. A lender will usually insist on collision and comprehensive for a financed car. With fewer than one Massachusetts driver in twelve uninsured in 2023, by the Insurance Research Council's estimate, the uninsured share is low by national standards, but the required minimums are still small next to the cost of a serious crash. Our guide to limits and deductibles shows what higher limits change on the bill.

How prices are set in Massachusetts

The Division of Insurance describes the state as a competitive marketplace, designed to push companies to offer each driver their lowest possible premium. Each insurer sorts drivers into risk groups, sets a base rate for every group and then adjusts it for the individual driver and the discounts that apply. Two companies can therefore reach quite different prices for you.

Some of those discounts are required by law. The Division names discounts for passive restraint systems and other safety features, and a discount for drivers who are 65 or older. The amount is up to each company, so ask how each quote applies them.

Massachusetts insurers are prohibited from using credit information from consumer reporting agencies for either underwriting or rating. A thin or damaged credit file should not move your auto premium here, unlike in most states; our page on credit-based insurance scores explains how the factor works elsewhere.

When no company will write your policy

If you can't find an insurer willing to cover you, an agent can place you through the Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Plan (MAIP), the state's involuntary market, administered by Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers under rules the Division of Insurance approves. You have to try the regular market first, and companies that turn you down must explain why in writing. Any agent licensed to sell auto insurance in the state can submit the application, but you can't pick the company you're assigned to.

MAIP rates are filed with and approved by the Division and are generally higher than a company's regular rates. The assigned company compares its voluntary rate for you with the MAIP rate and charges the lower one. More on how these plans work in our guide to assigned risk plans.

Steps toward a lower Massachusetts bill

1. 1 Price the same coverage at several companies. Each insurer builds its own rate groups, so quotes on identical limits and deductibles can differ a lot.
2. 2 Confirm the required discounts are on the bill: safety features such as passive restraints, and the discount for drivers 65 and older.
3. 3 Test a higher deductible. The deductible break-even calculator shows how long it takes for the lower premium to cover the extra out-of-pocket risk.
4. 4 Ask for help if a company won't explain a price. The Division of Insurance Consumer Service Unit takes calls at 617-521-7794, Monday to Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Questions drivers ask