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WinRater Comparative Auto Rating Software Resource Center


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Click here to find out which Massachusetts Auto Carriers are currently supported in WinRater.

    
 

 WinRater Auto Rating “Tip Sheet”

Get fast information about quoting with every auto carrier in WinRater, including tips, how to enter data, what to avoid, and more.

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General Tips For All Carriers
Vehicle Information: WinRater Vehicle Screen
  • Annual Mileage – It is important not to enter “rounded” numbers in this field. Some carriers require exact mileage to calculate the rate while others use different milege levels for discounts other than the standard 5,000/7,500 levels. You can retrieve the mileage from the IMI screen in the Registry.
  • VIN – ISO provides a list of VIN Numbers and sometimes they do not have a VIN for a particular vehicle. In those cases, you must use the “Edit” option in WinRater and enter the symbol manually. It is important to select the correct VIN associated with the vehicle you are quoting with if available. For agents who connect to the Registry VPN through WinRater, please be aware that VIN numbers do not get pre-filled from the VPN.
  • Principal Operator – If the quote has multiple drivers listed, it is important to correctly indicate who drives the vehicles the most. Please note that WinRater will handle the actual driver assignment of the vehicle using the Highest to Highest rules, Inexperienced Operator rules and Senior Operator rules in conjunction with the information you provide in the Principal Operator field.
  • When an Additional Coverage is selected and it is a coverage not offered by one (or more) Carriers on the quote, the coverage will NOT be calculated in the premium, display on the Plan Summary, or print on the Worksheet for that Carrier.
Driver Information: WinRater Driver Screen
  • Driver Detail – Be sure to enter accurate Date First Licensed, SDIP Points, as well as if a driver is Deferred or Excluded from a vehicle (but not all vehicles on a quote). This information must be entered correctly in WinRater in order to properly assign drivers to vehicles.
  • Accidents and Violations – Both “At Fault” as well as “Not At Fault Accidents” should be entered into WinRater as some carriers look at both. See the Carrier Specific section of this guide to help determine what level of detail is required by your carriers.
  • Advanced Driver Training – If the driver has obtained Advanced Driver Training, it is important to select it in WinRater. Some carriers provide discounts.
  • Good Student – Some Carriers offer Good Student Discounts. Be sure to check this box for additional credits if applicable.
  • Deferred Operator – This field is VERY important. It will impact how drivers are assigned to vehicles. Further, some carriers will change their rates based on a driver count. Even if a driver is deferred, you must enter that driver into WinRater and check this field. The driver will not be assigned to a vehicle, but the carrier will consider them for the overall rate.
Policy Options tab
  • Account Discount/Credit – This discount has a huge impact on a quote. Verify that the insured qualifies for this discount. (See Specific carriers for more information)
Underwriting tab (also on the New Quote start screen)
  • Prior or Renewing Carrier – Some carriers provide discounts to insured’s for renewing with them; other carriers offer discounts for renewing for a certain number of years.
  • Years with Agency – Some Carriers provide a discount to insured’s for being with the same agency for a number of years.
  • Lapse Days between Policies – Some carriers apply a surcharge if the lapse is one day or greater.
  • Excluded Operators – Enter the number of drivers that will be excluded from all vehicles.
Motorcycle Policies
  • Many motorcycle discrepancies come from not selecting the “guest coverage”. Be sure to verify if the policy has guest coverage.
  • Motorcycle Date Licensed is entered on the Driver Tab.
  • If driver has Motorcycle Training it is selected on the Driver Coverages/Motorcycle tab.
Rating Tips for Specific Carriers
AIG
  • Extra Vehicle Discount – If policy has more Private Passenger vehicles than drivers, then select the discount in the Additional Coverages section located in the vehicle panel (underneath the coverages on the Rating Detail Screen).
Arbella
  • At Fault Accidents – Within 6 years (Over $500) must be entered into WinRater. It can also be pulled in from the VPN’s UMI9 screen.
  • When integrating from your agency management system, Accidents and Violations sometimes get listed as “Unknown” in WinRater. You must enter type of violation: Major or Minor.
  • Effective 8/12/08 – Incidents should be keyed in using Incident Date instead of Surcharge Date.
  • Date First Licensed – Arbella takes the Date of Birth and adds 16.5 years to obtain a correct rate and to classify the driver as an experienced driver.
  • Account Credit – Given to an insured whose Home Policy is with Arbella, MPIUA, or any Massachusetts Carrier that does not write MA Auto.
    • NOTE: Account Credit, Loyalty, Multi-Vehicle, Hybrid, and Student Away at School Discounts do not apply to Category 7 policies.
  • Prior Carrier – Be aware that choosing Arbella or Other/None will place the insured into a different tier.
  • Class 15 shows cents on Arbella’s Dec page. WinRater will round to the nearest dollar.
  • Away at School discount must be selected to have the inexperienced operator Student Away at School discount.
  • Hybrid Vehicle discount – To apply discount, check Hybrid in the Equipment section under Edit Vehicle.
Commerce
  • Commerce calculates rates based on number of drivers as well as number of vehicles. If you remove a vehicle or add a driver to a policy, they will fall under a different Tier for Commerce. Please be sure to enter correct number of drivers as well as number of vehicles.
  • Be aware that Collaborative Edge asks for “number of years licensed” while WinRater requires Date First Licensed. Depending upon which system you are in, you should enter the appropriate figure.
  • Has Property Credit – Commerce gives a discount even if the insured owns a home that is not insured by Commerce.
  • Good Student discount must be selected for the inexperienced operator to obtain the Good Student discount.
  • Away at School discount must be selected for the inexperienced operator to obtain the Student Away from Home discount.
  • NOTE: If an inexperienced operator has both discounts, only the Student Away from Home applies.
  • “Years with AAA” has been added to Policy Options.
  • Loyalty Plus – Prior to April 1, 2009, a named insured with an active AAA membership received a flat group discount and a separate flat Loyalty discount depending on the number of years with CIC. The Loyalty Plus Factor replaces both the AAA Group discount and the existing Loyalty Discount. There is no longer a drop-down box under the Policy Options for the Loyalty Credit. WinRater will now automatically look at 4 different values to determine the applicable Loyalty Plus Factor. The values are:
    • The “Years With Prior Carrier” on the Underwriting Tab. Commerce must be selected as the carrier;
    • The “Years with AAA” on the Policy Options Tab
    • The “Merit Rating” value of the Rated Driver; and
    • The “Years Licensed” of the Rated Driver.
    NOTE: All quotes will be rated with the Loyalty Plus Factor. The factor is determined using a multi-variate table, including the four values noted above. Depending on the Merit Rating and Years Licensed, (and no AAA membership and no or less than 3 years with Commerce) the Loyalty Plus credit may result in a factor of 1.00. However, Loyalty Plus, reflecting a AAA membership, will provide a premium reduction from 1% to 10% based on the years licensed for each driver on the policy, Merit Rating Code, years insured with Commerce, the presence of a AAA membership, including the number of consecutive years with AAA. Please contact Commerce for further information or reference the Rules Manual (Rule 26) or the Quick reference Guide that Commerce has provided on their website.

    The Loyalty Plus Factor will be applied per vehicle based on the years licensed and Merit Rating score of the assigned driver. However, the presence of AAA membership, and the consecutive years with AAA (in any AAA club) will be based on the named insured’s status for these criteria. Additionally, the number of years insured with Commerce will continue to be determined at a policy level based on the tenure of the named insured.
  • Capping – All carriers are required to issue policies at or below the residual market rate level for the following basic limit coverages on a combined basis; Optional BI (20/40), PIP, Uninsured (20/40), and PDL (5,000). Policies with these risk characteristics may appear slightly higher in the WinRater quote; however, you will see the true premium upon uploading the quote to Collaborative Edge.
Electric Insurance
  • Electric Insurance has Category Rating. Therefore, you must enter the correct driver information such as SDIP to obtain an accurate quote.
  • See Policy Options Tab in WinRater for available credit/charges.
  • Please be sure to enter correct Date First Licensed. Electric gives a Years Licensed Credit.
Encompass
  • Be aware that Encompass has Rating Tiers: Ultra-Preferred, Preferred Plus, Perferred, and Standard.
  • In order for the policy to be placed in Ultra-Preferred, Preferred Plus, or Preferred the following items must be set:
    • “Lapse at New Business” must be set at No.
    • “Prior Auto Insurance” must be set at Yes.
    • “Prior BI Limits Acceptable” must be set at Yes.
  • Key fields to look at while placing business in the Ultra Preferred Tier:
    • Years with Prior Carrier or Current Agent must be set at 4 years or more.
    • All operators must have SDIP 99 or 98.
    • All operators must have years licensed of 5 or more.
    • At least 2 autos are on the quote.
  • Key fields to look at while placing business in the Preferred Plus Tier:
    • Years with Prior Carrier or Current Agent must be set at 4 or more.
    • All operators must have SDIP 99 or 98. SDIP 0 for Inexperienced classes only.
    • At least one operator must have years licensed of 5 or more.
  • Key fields to look at while placing business in the Preferred Tier:
    • At least one operator must have years licensed of 5 or more.
    • WinRater cannot quote Ultra-Preferred with forced multi-car discount.
  • Future Effective Date Discount – applies if New Business Policy is issued 7 or more days before Eff Date.
  • Future Effective Date (Year 2) – applies if quoting a Renewal Policy that had the Future Eff Date discount on the New Business last year.
Farm Family
  • Date First Licensed is used to calculate Driving Experience Discount.
  • Be aware that the MA Farm Bureau Federation Group Discount has been extended to MASS residents with memberships in NH, NJ, NY, or RI.
Hanover
  • NOTE: Hanover is a multi-Variant Rating Company.
  • Accidents and Violations – Hanover focuses on last 3 years of all Accidents and Violations including Not at Fault accidents.
  • For Violations, enter Surcharge Date
  • For Accidents, enter Incident Date and dollar amount.
  • “Date first Licensed” and “Annual Mileage” MUST be Accurate.
  • If Hanover gets a No Hit on the License, they will add a surcharge to the quote.
  • If Part 5 limits are 20/40, the part 5 premium will be displayed as $0 and the actual premium will be added to the Part 1 Premium.
  • SDIP Surcharges or Credits are not displayed as a separate amount on the quote.
Harleysville
  • Be aware that Harleysville has Rating Tiers: Standard, Preferred, and Elite.
    • Tier is REQUIRED and can be selected under the Policy Options Tab.
      Note: WinRater will not generate a quote until a TIER is selected by the user.
    • To help select the Tier applicable to your quote, please refer to Harleysville’s “Underwriting Quick Reference Chart – New Business”.
  • Discounts
    • Hybrid Auto – check “Hybrid” in the Equipment section of the Vehicles Tab.
    • Advanced Driver Training – check “Adv Driver’s Ed” on the Drivers Tab.
    • Student Away at School – check “Away at School” on the Drivers Tab.
    • Good Student – check “Good Student” on the Drivers Tab. Driver has to be Inexperienced and have 2 or less SDIP points.
  • Driver Coverages – Motorcycle Tab
    • Harleysville-unique SDIP Points – enter 96 for 3 years or 97 for 4 years Incident-Free.
    • If a change is made to Driver SDIP, if needed, update the unique SDIP Points in Driver Coverages/Motorcycle tab.
  • See the Policy Options Tab in WinRater for available credits.
  • Customer Loyalty Credit – enter Harleysville as Prior or Renewing Carrier and Years with Carrier on the Underwriting Tab.
MET
  • Auto Policy Plus discount can apply if an insured is the named insured on a MET Home, Life or Home and Life policy.
National Grange
  • Category Rating – It is important to enter all driver and vehicle information accurately to obtain an accurate quote.
  • Lapse In Coverage – One day is all that is needed to be selected to calculate a surcharge
OneBeacon
  • Any New Business that was first issued since April 1, 2008 will continue to be scored and rated under our New Business scoring logic on the renewal. Remember to complete the Advanced Quote option as well as the other factors that were used at the time of the New Business to obtain an accurate rate, including Prior or Renewing Carrier = Other and the number of Years with their Prior Carrier.
  • Be sure to enter underwriting information in WinRater to ensure the policy gets placed in the correct Rating Category.
  • Collaborative Edge does not rate for renewals so if you are doing a re-write of an existing OBI policy, you must put Prior Carrier as “Other” not OBI.
  • If choosing New Business Advanced Quote Endorsement, be careful to enter the CORRECT selection. 7 Days Prior to Effective date will be substantially less than if quoted 1-6 days Prior, or On or After the Effective Date.
  • If there is a lapse in Coverage, OneBeacon needs the exact Number of days (with 0 meaning “No Lapse”).
  • Companion Policy Discount options are OneBeacon, Fair Plan, Narragansett and Barnstable.
  • If a Driver has Non-Chargeable Incidents they need to be entered in the Accident/Violations tab.
Peerless
  • Risk Modifier Percentage is based on the clients payment plan. EFT Payment Plans are given a credit and Non EFT is given a surcharge. It is the agent’s responsibility to know the credit or surcharge the insured is to receive.
  • Advanced Driver’s Ed must be selected for the driver to receive Driver Training Discount.
  • Many rating discrepancies come from agents not selecting all applicable discounts. Please be sure to select discounts that the insured qualifies for.
Plymouth Rock
  • On the Underwriting Tab PRAC must be selected as Prior Carrier and 3+ years must be selected to receive a discount.
  • Annual Mileage – Needs to be obtained from the RMV.
  • If insured has not had the vehicle for one full year, enter 99999.
Preferred
  • Account Credit – Given to an insured whose Homeowners Policy is with Preferred.
  • Future Effective Date – Applies if New Business is submitted 7 or more days prior to effective date.
  • Good Pay/Loyalty Credit – Renewal credit is based on number of years with good pay or loyalty with Preferred.
  • Good Student must be selected to obtain the Good Student discount.
Quincy Mutual
  • Enter accurate “Date First Licensed” to obtain accurate Class Code.
  • In order to be eligible for the Customer Loyalty Credit, “Prior or Renewing Carrier” must be set to Quincy and “Years with Carrier” must be set to 1 or greater in the Underwriting section. In addition, the risk must be:
    • Rated in classes 12-15.
    • Have Bodily Injury limits, Part 5, equal to or above $50,000 per person.
    • The rated operator must have a merit rating code of 99 (Excellent Driver Discount Plus), 98 (Excellent Driver Discount) or 00 (Neutral).
Safety
  • New Business/Agency Loyalty Credit is only for 1st or 2nd year with Safety.
  • Renewal Credit is based on consecutive years with Safety up to 11+ years.
  • E-Customer Discount – New Business or Renewal.*
  • Electronic Book Transfer is for business that has been with the Agent for 3 or more years and are moving their policy to Safety.*

    *NOTE: Cannot have both E-Customer Discount and Electronic Book Transfer on a quote.
Travelers
  • It is important to enter the Vehicle ID. The VIN is used in calculating the base rates.
  • Years at Residence is REQUIRED under the Policy Options Tab.
Vermont Mutual
  • Hybrid Auto Discount – To apply discount, check “Hybrid” in the Equipment section under Edit Vehicle.
  • Student Discounts:
    • Good Student – Check “Good Student” on the Drivers Tab.
    • Away at School – Check “Away at School” on the Drivers Tab.
    • Note: Driver has to be Inexperienced and have 2 or less SDIP points.