Even before the state's new "managed competition" plan went into effect on Tuesday, residents of Massachusetts were noticing an increased number of insurance company ads on radio, in print media, and on billboards. The reason? Now that companies in Massachusetts can price their products for competition, they're trying to draw in new customers.

While the advertising has increased, however, there are questions about how it will impact actual revenue. Ted Grosso, vice president of New England Cable News said his company was tracking the advertising upswing, and anticipated that there would be even more ads coming in April and May.

Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for WCVB-TV told reporters that her station has "definitely seen an increase" in advertising revenue. She too, anticipates even more ads now that the deregulation has gone into effect.

Why all the fuss? It's because Massachusetts, for the last 30 years, was one of the few states where the state insurance commissioner set car insurance rates. As of April 1, 2008, the new managed-competition plan allows individual insurance companies to set their rates within specific state-mandated guidelines, which opens the market for competition.

While many are expecting rate decreases of about 7 percent over all, the down side is that consumers are being inundated with ads.

Historically, Massachusetts has had some of the highest insurance rates in the country.