Peerless Insurance of Keene, N.H., said it has just issued its first Massachusetts personal auto insurance policy in more than 20 years.

After announcing last November its intention to re-enter the Massachusetts marketplace under the new managed competition auto insurance system, Peerless Insurance said it issued its first auto policy through Berkshire Insurance Group Inc., an agency in Western Massachusetts.

Peerless is a regional company of Liberty Mutual Agency Markets. Liberty Mutual is headquartered in Boston.

"We are absolutely delighted to be back and look forward to providing consumers with another quality choice in the marketplace," Michael Christiansen, Peerless Insurance president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Under the managed competition system put in place in Massachusetts April 1, companies have greater freedom to set prices and create innovative auto insurance products; previously, state regulators set prices for all auto insurers in Massachusetts.

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