Plymouth Rock: We'll Remind Massachusetts Drivers of Expired

May 11--BOSTON -- Plymouth Rock Assurance, one of the state's largest car insurers, is stepping up to offer all state drivers free e-mail reminders when it's time to renew their license, vehicle registration or inspection sticker.

The new service -- available starting today -- fills a void left when the state stopped sending out such reminders in December in an effort to save money.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles anticipated it could save as much as $600,000 in paper and mailing expenses by cutting out the courtesy reminders.

Plymouth Rock has been offering this same services to its customers since January 2008. The company decided to expand it to all Massachusetts drivers and will e-mail more than a million registered drivers this week to encourage them to enroll.

Paula Gold, vice president of Plymouth Rock, said that while "it would be nice" if the company gained new customers through the move, "our reason is legitimately twofold."

"Plymouth Rock prides itself on more than just its insurance," she added, "and this has been working so well for our customers. It's important to get your car inspected, avoid fines, and it relates to car safety and the environment."

The program, called MYLESSM e-Reminder Service, can be joined by visiting MYLESereminder.prac.com. Registrants will be asked only to provide a valid e-mail address and driver's license number.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles stopped mailing notices for license renewals, Massachusetts

ID card renewals, license reinstatements, vehicle reinspections and changes of address in an effort to trim costs as the state struggled to balance its budget.

Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman for the RMV, said the cost of creating a new database to switch to e-mail notifications would have defeated the idea of saving money.

"The idea of eliminating the courtesy notices was to get people to take personal responsibility and look in their wallets or purse and see when their license expires, which is every five years on their birthday," Dufresne said.

The state, however, is in the process looking into companies that could provide Bay State drivers automatic, electronic notification for license renewals, at no cost to taxpayers, by using advertisements and sponsorships to cover the cost.

The elimination of the courtesy notices has, thus far, had little perceptible impact on the number of citations issued by police for driving with an expired or improper license, but is something the RMV is monitoring since the change.

Police issued 7,041 tickets over the course of the first three months of 2008, compared to 7,213 from January through March of this year, according to the RMV.

The average percentage of drivers renewing their licenses when they expire is 87 percent, which accounts for people who might be giving up their license or waiting on purpose.

Dufresne said the RMV supports Plymouth Rock's efforts to help remind drivers, as long as a driver's personal information is protected.

"We don't really know how they're going to operate the database, and we want to make sure that our customers are getting the services that they are subscribing to, and the acess to the database is a concern," Dufresne said. "If the database can be protected, and that service can be offered, then that's a wonderful alternative."

Gold said Plymouth Rock will ask for minimal personal information and protect that data the same may it protects its customers' personal information.

-----

To see more of The Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lowellsun.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.