The Massachusetts FAIR Plan, explained

If your home, condo or rental is insured through the “FAIR Plan” or the “MPIUA,” or an agent has just told you that is where your house will have to go, this page explains what that means in plain language. We have written FAIR Plan policies from our Hingham office for decades.

What it is

The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association — MPIUA, usually called the FAIR Plan — is the state’s property insurer of last resort. It was set up so that a Massachusetts property owner who cannot find coverage in the regular market can still buy a real policy. The insurance companies that do business in Massachusetts share in it. It is not a government handout and it is not a lesser kind of insurance: it is a licensed Massachusetts insurer that pays claims like any other.

Who ends up there

Mostly homes the standard companies will not write, for reasons that usually have nothing to do with the owner. The most common one on the South Shore is the ocean — houses in Hull, Scituate, Cohasset, Humarock and along Hingham harbor that sit closer to the water than the standard companies want. Older houses with older roofs or wiring. Some condos and rentals. Sometimes it is simply where an agency places a certain kind of policy based on its own experience.

If your policy is with the FAIR Plan, that is not a mark against you. It is a placement decision, and a perfectly normal one along this coast.

What the policy covers

The FAIR Plan writes homeowners, condominium and renters policies and dwelling policies for houses you rent to others. The forms are more basic than what a standard company offers, and some of the things you might take for granted — replacement cost on your belongings, for example — are add-ons rather than automatic. That is fine as long as someone reads the policy with you and tells you which options matter for your house. That is our job.

What it does not do

It does not cover flooding from the sea or a river; that is a separate flood policy, and we write those too. It does not cover your car, your boat or your liability beyond the policy’s limit; an umbrella policy sits on top. And it does not insure things it cannot see a policy for — a ring belonging to an adult child living in the house cannot go on the parents’ policy, for instance. Ask before you assume.

How you buy it

Through a licensed Massachusetts insurance agent. There is no walking in off the street; the application, the inspection questions and the paperwork all go through an agent who knows the Plan’s rules. We do, and we do it every week, for new policies and for changes on existing ones.

Can you get back out?

Often, yes. A new roof, an updated electrical service, a removed oil tank, or simply a change in what the standard companies are willing to write can move a house back into the regular market. We look at every FAIR Plan policy at renewal with that question in mind. When there is a better option we will tell you; when the FAIR Plan is still the right place, we will tell you that too.