What Fiduciary Liability Insurance Requirements Apply in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has no general private-employer auto-IRA mandate in the cited program materials; its CORE Plan is an optional 401(k) for eligible nonprofit employers with 100 or fewer employees. Coverage review should identify which people make discretionary plan decisions and which staff perform the state payroll task; give the broker both roles.

What Is Fiduciary Liability Insurance?

Fiduciary liability can protect your company and plan fiduciaries when participants claim mishandling of an employee benefit plan. If you sponsor a retirement or health plan, check who is insured and whether both administration errors and fiduciary-breach claims are addressed. Read the national Fiduciary liability guide.

What to Watch for With Fiduciary Liability in Massachusetts

  • Optional CORE adoption

    Use optional core adoption as the state checkpoint. Keep the supporting eligibility record, employee authorization, exemption certification, or program notice with payroll reconciliation so the employer can trace how it applied the rule. 1

  • Name The Decision Makers

    For Massachusetts, optional core adoption is a state payroll or program checkpoint. Assign an operational owner to track it, and separately identify the people who select investments, resolve eligibility disputes, or monitor the plan provider; those discretionary roles matter to the fiduciary application. 1,2

  • Set An Exception Review

    At renewal, sample Massachusetts payroll or program records against optional core adoption. Record the reviewer, any missed authorization, enrollment, or remittance step, the correction date, and the plan fiduciary who reviewed the exception. 1

Providers With Massachusetts License Records

These providers publish a national listing for Fiduciary liability; the license records below name the licensed entities and roles. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Massachusetts. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

  • Coalition

    Insurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28

    Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc.

    Coalition’s license page lists producer and surplus-lines licenses for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc. in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The page separately lists insurers; this record covers the brokerage entity only. 12

    Coalition offers fiduciary liability through its executive-risks product for private and nonprofit US organizations.

  • Corgi

    Insurance producer · checked 2026-09-28

    Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.

    Corgi’s company producer-license table lists 50 jurisdictions: 49 states and the District of Columbia, including DC license 3003091619. New Mexico does not appear in the table and is not included here; the omission does not establish that Corgi is unlicensed there. The company-reported table has no stated as-of date and does not establish product availability. 13

    Corgi lists fiduciary liability in its coverage catalog and package options.

Who Regulates Insurance in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts Division of Insurance

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance licenses insurers and producers, reviews rates and forms, and handles insurance complaints. Use the State Based Systems lookup for producers, agencies, and surplus-lines brokers. For insurer status, use the DOI’s separate licensed or approved company lists, including the eligible surplus-lines company list. Before filing a complaint, contact the insurer or producer; if the response is unsatisfactory, submit the online form with supporting papers. The DOI says not to use the form for ongoing litigation. 3,4,5,6

Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Massachusetts

Reported tax rate. 4% of gross premiums less gross return premiums on risks or exposures in Massachusetts or another state when Massachusetts is the insured’s home state. 7,8,9,10

A diligent effort to place coverage with admitted insurers is generally required before surplus-lines placement through a specially licensed Massachusetts broker. The narrow §224 large-commercial exception is described in the note below.

  • Multi-state surplus-lines tax dates and exceptions: For this rule, home state means the state of the insured’s principal place of business or, for an individual, principal residence; if 100% of the risk is outside that state, home state is where the greatest percentage of taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated. For multi-state policies effective on or after August 10, 2018, the Division of Insurance says the 4% tax applies to gross premium regardless of whether risks are inside or outside Massachusetts when Massachusetts is the insured’s home state. For earlier effective dates, Massachusetts risk portions are taxed at 4%, while out-of-state portions are taxed at the rates for their allocated premium. The Division lists exceptions for policies issued to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, federal credit unions when they are the purchaser, and tribal lands on reservations. Brokers still make required filings for exempt policies. Tax-exempt status alone is not specifically excluded. 7,8
  • Narrow large-commercial placement exception: Section 168(b)(iv) exempts the diligent-effort affidavit and excess-placement condition in §168(b)(iii) only for a §224 qualifying commercial risk or policyholder. The policyholder must acknowledge in writing that the insurer is not admitted and that the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund will not pay an insolvency loss. Section 224 eligibility is limited to a corporation, partnership, trust, sole proprietorship, or other business or public entity with at least $30,000 in aggregate property-and-casualty premiums, excluding workers’ compensation. The holder must certify its election and understanding of limited regulatory oversight and certify at least two criteria: net worth of $10 million; net revenue or sales of $5 million; more than 25 employees per individual company OR more than 50 employees per holding company aggregate; a nonprofit or public entity with annual budget or assets of $25 million or more; a municipality with population of 20,000 or more; or retention of a risk manager who is either a full-time employee or retained by the policyholder; that person must be licensed and hold one of these qualifications: certified insurance counselor, chartered property and casualty underwriter, associate in risk management, certified risk manager, or licensed insurance advisor in property and casualty. 9,10

Questions to Ask Before You Buy Fiduciary Liability in Massachusetts

  1. What state-specific eligibility, authorization, or remittance rule applies to the employer’s retirement arrangement?
  2. Who reviews payroll-to-plan reconciliations and records exceptions under that rule?
  3. Which people exercise plan discretion, and are they identified in the fiduciary application?

Fiduciary Liability Insurance in Massachusetts: FAQ

What state retirement or payroll rule should an employer in Massachusetts check first?

Massachusetts has no general private-employer auto-IRA mandate in the cited program materials; its CORE Plan is an optional 401(k) for eligible nonprofit employers with 100 or fewer employees. 1

Does hiring a plan administrator remove an employer’s fiduciary responsibility in Massachusetts?

No. Provider selection does not end the plan fiduciary’s duty to monitor the provider. Document who retains that review, and assign a separate owner for the state checkpoint: optional core adoption. 2,1

Fiduciary Liability Insurance Guides for Other States

Other coverage in MassachusettsEvery coverage guide for Massachusetts, plus the regulator and surplus-lines details.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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