Floridians are set to soon witness many things about Insurance in a short time.
- During the week that begins on Monday, January 14, 2008, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is set to hold a 2-day Public Hearing for Allstate Insurance Company executives to make the case for Allstate to raise Homeowner's Insurance Premiums and other Property Insurance Premiums. Allstate previously requested a rate hike of 42 percent.
- Governor Charlie Crist asked 3 prominent Florida trial lawyers to report by the end of January whether Florida could succeed in filing a lawsuit, possibly as a class action, against the Insurance Industry because Insurance Companies have not lowered their prices or have kept their profits rather than reducing Premiums.
- Hearings scheduled to feature testimony from Insurance Officers under oath are scheduled to begin on Monday, February 4 and continue through Tuesday, February 5 at the behest of a newly made Florida Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability. The newly formed Senate Committee reportedly has subpoena power.
- Reportedly, "[i]n parallel with the planned Senate hearings," Governor Crist and Kevin McCarty, the Director of Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, "have issued subpoenas" of their own to some Insurance Companies for internal documents that may address the issue of whether there is "a conspiracy to keep rates high."
If the results of all these projects come in as scheduled, the next 3 weeks in Florida will surely be enlightening. See Linda Kleindienst & Julie Patel, "Where Did Savings Go? Insurance Executives Will Have to Tell Under Oath" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com, Fri. Jan., 11, 2008); John Kennedy, "State to Take on Top Insurers Over Costs/Legislators May Require Executives to Testify Under Oath to Find Out Why Rates Did Not Fall Significantly" p. C1, col. 1 (Orlando Sentinel Central Florida Business, Fri., Jan. 11, 2008); Tom Zucco, "Report: Insurers Fleece Public/Consumer Groups Say Property Owners Pay Too Much, Get Too Little" (St. Petersburg Times Online, Fri., Jan. 11, 2008); and Editorial, "We Need Answers on Home Insurance" (St. Petersburg Times Online, Sun., Jan. 13, 2008).
Please Read The Disclaimer.
Comments