What’s the FAIR Plan? Do I have any other options?

If you’re a homeowner in Massachusetts you may have heard of the FAIR Plan, but what is it? The Massachusetts Property and Underwriting Association (MPIUA), now better known as the MA FAIR Plan, offers homeowners insurance policies to those in the state who can’t obtain coverage from a traditional insurer.

The Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan was created in the late 60’s to provide coverage for high-risk homes that had been denied by private insurance companies, usually due to the crime/danger of their neighborhood, or their proximity to water.

While the FAIR Plan was initially developed to insure homes in urban areas with high rates of crime or vandalism, the plan now insures mostly coastal homes. Homes on the water in Massachusetts have always been difficult to insure, and after being denied, it seems like the only option for many of these homeowners is to go through the FAIR Plan. This was true until around 2008, when the state allowed private insurance companies to have more freedom when setting their rates. Once this happened, affordable alternatives to the FAIR Plan were created and brought to market.

Even if you already have the state’s plan, there very well may be a better alternative out there for you right now. Insurance agents have plans developed to get you off of the FAIR Plan, or to provide you with more coverage for the same price. Once in the FAIR Plan, policyholders rarely leave. This made sense in the first 50 or so years of the plan’s existence, but more affordable and comprehensive plans have become readily available, even if you’ve been denied coverage by private insurers in the past.

There are even organizations like the Monomoy Insurance Group that focus exclusively on offering you alternatives to the FAIR Plan. Monomoy is a newly formed insurance group especially focused on coastal exposures. Be sure to look into the guidelines surrounding all alternatives, because like all policies there are requirements and exclusions that may apply. Doing some research into your alternatives can save you some money, upgrade your coverage, or both. Check out Monomoy to see if you can get off the FAIR plan, or request a quote below!