Insurance industry representatives described a rapid increase in no-fault (PIP) litigation and urged the Joint Committee on the Judiciary to advance Senate Bill 1101 to deter abusive filings.

Christopher Stark of the Massachusetts Insurance Federation said the number of PIP suits grew sharply from 2023 to 2024 and continued rising into 2025, attributing the trend in part to out-of-state firms entering Massachusetts after changes in other jurisdictions. Roberta Fitzpatrick of Arbella Insurance Group and an assistant vice president from Mapfre described the phenomenon as a "cottage industry" of mass filings by firms soliciting unpaid provider bills and bundling claims into suit filings that often are time-barred or unsupported.

Stark and Fitzpatrick proposed a narrow statutory fix: require insurers to tender amounts due and payable within 30 days of service of a PIP complaint to avoid exposure to attorney-fee awards. They argued the change would reduce opportunistic litigation and preserve the no-fault statute’s aim of quick, efficient compensation without clogging the courts.

Witnesses said the increase in filings is dramatic and gave firm examples: one insurer reported receiving 2,000 provider submissions in a year from a single out-of-state firm. The panel emphasized that the bill did not change insured consumers’ coverage or increase consumer costs directly; instead, it would reduce litigation-driven costs that can drive insurance rates over time.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about how the proposed tender deadline would operate; sponsors and industry representatives described the change as a modest procedural guardrail to reduce abuse.