Section 4. No person may: (a) require, as a condition precedent to the lending of money or extension of credit, or any renewal thereof, that the person to whom such money or credit is extended or whose obligation the creditor is to acquire or finance, negotiate any policy or contract of insurance through a particular insurer or group of insurers or agent or broker or group of agents or brokers;

Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 176D sec. 4

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.

(b) unreasonably disapprove an insurance policy provided by a borrower for the protection of property securing a credit or lien. Such disapproval shall be deemed unreasonable if it is not based solely on reasonable standards uniformly applied, relating to the extent of coverage required and the financial soundness and the services of an insurer. Such standards shall not discriminate against any particular type of insurer, nor shall such standards call for the disapproval of an insurance policy because such policy contains coverage in addition to that required;

(c) require, directly or indirectly, that any borrower, mortgagor, purchaser, insurer, broker, or agent pay a separate charge to substitute the insurance policy of one insurer for that of another. Interest on premium loans or premium advancements in accordance with a security instrument shall not be considered such a separate charge; or

(d) use or disclose information resulting from a requirement that a borrower, mortgagor or purchaser furnish insurance of any kind or real property being conveyed or used as collateral security to a loan, when such information is to the advantage of the mortgagee, vendor, or lender, or is to the detriment of the borrower, mortgagor, purchaser, insurer, or the agent or broker complying with such a requirement.

For the purposes of this section, ”person” includes any individual, corporation, association, partnership, or other legal entity whatsoever.

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