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In the last few years, lawmakers at the state level have seen home insurance rates increase significantly, and many are now moving to do more for residents who have to contend with these potentially higher premiums. And, while that's often easier said than done, it seems that legislators in Massachusetts have largely been able to reduce this kind of issue with a law that goes into effect later this year. Because of these looming changes, many insurance agents in the state may be able to deliver significant good news to their clients, and potentially foster more customer satisfaction as a result.

A new law recently signed - which goes into effect within the next two months - will allow Massachusetts residents to buy flood insurance only on the mortgage balances they have left to pay, not the overall value of their homes, according to a report from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. Further, they also won't have to buy plans that explicitly cover the contents of their homes if they don't want to, and deductibles cannot be less than $5,000 going forward (as a means of keeping premiums lower).

Why is this happening?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently redrew flood zones in many parts of the country, and Massachusetts was no exception, the report said. However, with these changes put into place, many state residents were facing much higher home insurance premiums than they were previously used to paying, and which may have been more difficult to afford. But with this new law, the hope is that these changes will be less impactful.

""The proposed federal flood insurance changes were inherently unfair to thousands of Massachusetts families,"" Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said, according to the news organization. ""This new law, combined with recent changes to the National Flood Insurance Program, will offer greater protection to families who could face unsustainable rate increases through no fault of their own.""

The ability of insurance agents to consistently keep prices low is certainly one very positive aspect that most customers are going to appreciate. However, when it comes to keeping satisfaction as high as possible, there's more to it than just being able to find the occasional discount; data shows that consumers actually prefer to receive regular, high-quality service more so than having their agents routinely find them more affordable coverage. Striking a reasonable balance between the two, therefore, may go a long way toward boosting customer retention and word of mouth business.

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