AAA Pioneer Valley merges with 6 million-member neighbor

AAA Pioneer Valley, which traces its roots to 1902 and as organization called the Springfield Auto Club, has merged with its larger neighbor, AAA Northeast, as of Jan. 1. The name will change to AAA Northeast, said Sandra Marsian, vice president for the Pioneer Valley Region. There are no changes expected in staffing levels in the Pioneer Valley, where AAA has 187 employees in branch offices in Greenfield, Hadley, Springfield and West Springfield.

Insurance-only services are available in Chicopee and Westfield. In 2019, AAA Pioneer Valley announced that it had purchased the assets of Tierney Insurance Agency Inc.

AAA’s 204,000 local members have started learning of the merger. The newly expanded AAA Northeast has 6 million members.

Customers are used to thinking of AAA as a national organization, which it is, Marsian said. But AAA is really made up of constituent regional clubs.

AAA Pioneer Valley’s territory was Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. AAA Northeast’s territory includes all of the rest of Massachusetts, Western Connecticut, Rhode Island, regions of New York including New York City and parts of New Jersey. Its headquarters is in Rhode Island.

With a larger size, Martian said AAA here can now offer products it could not offer before, including home mortgage lending, an identity-theft protection program included with each membership at no additional charge and auto warranty programs. Emergency road service will continue uninterrupted.

Marsian said AAA expects members will get a broader selection of discounts and rewards using their membership cards.