For years, independent insurance agents had been trying to pass consumer protection legislation to prohibit insurance companies from using certain socio-economic factors, such as credit scoring, in the underwriting and rate setting of auto insurance policies. Their efforts had been continually stalled and defeated by powerful interests within the insurance industry. Our job was to break this logjam and get their bill over the goal line.
Instead of using the standard lobbying playbook, which would have all but ensured the status quo, Ventry devised a fully-integrated public relations and grassroots campaign that ultimately led to the biggest legislative victory in MAIA’s history.
This campaign began with opinion polling, which found that the general public overwhelmingly supported MAIA’s position. Added pressure was then brought to bear through a grassroots ballot referendum campaign that leveraged and mobilized the power of thousands of local insurance agents across Massachusetts. We provided “air cover” to this ground campaign and our lobbying effort through earned media stories on television and radio, as well as newspaper articles, op-ed pieces, editorials and letters to the editor from local agents and consumers.
In the end, our opponents relented in the face of a potentially costly ballot campaign and the credit scoring legislation became law.
