By Bob Katzen

-The House approved and sent to the Senate legislation waiving, for six years, until 2030, a law that requires businesses and groups to have a 35 percent participation rate in order to qualify for group auto and home insurance discount rates. The measure permits groups with less than the 35 percent participation to take advantage of group rates, which supporters say will save members between 5 percent and 8 percent. The law has been waived since 1997. The 35 percent requirement was first included in a 1973 law.

  Supporters said if the bill is not approved, insurance discounts for 322,000 vehicles and 142,000 homes in the Bay State would disappear on January 1, 2025, and consumers will pay millions of dollars more for insurance.