All drivers have to carry valid auto insurance to legally get behind the wheel, but when driving is your job, those insurance policies can get pricey.

Massachusetts is one such state that has traditionally tended to charge commercial drivers significantly more than the national average, and because of this, the state’s Attorney General Martha Coakley recently announced that she has sent a letter to Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy requesting immediate action to reduce overcharged commercial auto insurance rates.

Coakley wrote the letter to try and persuade Murphy to use his statutory authority to reduce commercial auto insurance rates in the commonwealth after her office estimated that businesses in Massachusetts had been overcharged by close to $1 billion over the past seven years, and that rates in the "Bay State" were excessive by 21.6 percent as compared to the rest of the nation. The estimations were based on data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the Automobile Insurers Bureau.

In the letter, Coakley argued that because of the excessive commercial auto insurance rates, economic activity in the commonwealth has been severely impacted, and that if the rates were better kept in check, at least $450 million in economic activity and the opening of 3,000 additional jobs would occur. She also used the law to help her argument stating that Massachusetts has had long standing regulations that explicitly say motor vehicle rates shall not be "unreasonably high for the insurance provided" or "excessive."

"These inflated commercial auto premiums impact virtually every industry in Massachusetts—from manufacturing, trucking, and construction to sales and services," Coakley said in her letter, "The added costs limit the ability of businesses to invest in Massachusetts and cost Massachusetts residents thousands of jobs. The problem is especially acute for small businesses, whose ability to create jobs is impaired by excessive rates."

In February, Coakley's previous attempt to reach out to Murphy failed when she asked him to reject a proposal from the Progressive Insurance Company to increase rates by 23 percent. Murphy refused Coakley's plea, claiming that businesses could easily shop around for lower prices if they felt the Progressive increase was too high.

Commissioner Murphy has yet to make a public statement on Coakley's letter, and it is still up in the air as to whether or not he plans to use his authority to make changes to Massachusetts' commercial auto insurance industry.

—AJ Register