Massachusetts is one of the last states to loosen its control of auto insurance rates and potentially the criteria insurers may use to set those rates. Until now, those two factors have deterred several of the nation’s major carriers, like GEICO and Progressive, from insuring in Massachusetts.

After all, Massachusetts is an attractive market. Currently, only 19 insurers sell private passenger auto coverage in the Commonwealth (compared to an average of 36 per state nationally). In addition, Massachusetts ranks among the top five states in most expensive auto insurance premiums and among the top ten in number of insured automobiles, according to the Insurance Information Institute.