Century to drop auto insurance

Another auto insurer is pulling out of Massachusetts, apparently fed up with the state's convoluted regulatory system, Gov. Mitt Romney's office said yesterday.



Century Middlesex Insurance, a unit of Wisconsin-based Century Insurance, has informed Insurance Commissioner Julie Bowler that it plans to stop offering auto insurance by the end of the year, a Bowler spokesman said.



Century, with local offices in Westford, has less than 1 percent of the auto-insurance market in Massachusetts.



But that still accounts for about 22,000 insurance premiums, said the spokesman, Chris Goetcheus.



A spokesman for Century did not return phone calls yesterday.



``This is obviously further indication this market is distressed and the system isn't working,'' said Goetcheus, who added that dozens of insurers have pulled out of the state in recent years.



Gov. Mitt Romney has been pushing for a major overhaul of the auto insurance system in Massachusetts, the only state that has regulators setting insurance rates.



But Steve D'Amato, executive director for the Center for Insurance Research, said insurers are pulling out of Massachusetts due to the way high-risk drivers are assigned to and covered by companies - not because the entire system needs reform.