Imagine – all kinds of legislation, hand in hand with lobbying and political positioning, just in time for the start of hurricane season on June 1. A couple of recent news stories point out the possible direction that several key measures may be heading.… Continue Reading
Numerous newspaper articles have discussed this session’s bills which impact the insurance industry. The anti-consumer bill, which provides for deregulation of insurance rates, passed. I expect Governor Crist will veto that bill as was previously reported.… Continue Reading
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is working tirelessly for fair treatment of insurance consumers. It is amusing that the Florida legislature may give into State Farm’s bullying and even allow higher insurance rates, which McCarty says are unnecessary. Some of our legislators are pandering to State Farm and the Florida insurance industry by using the … Continue Reading
Most of the time, I battle large corporate insurers in David vs. Goliath like battles. I find it amusing that State Farm’s attorneys are struggling in this fight, given State Farm’s enormous size and power. Today, State Farm’s lawyers, lead by the very able Mark Delegal, are lobbying Florida’s leaders on a very anti-consumer bill. … Continue Reading
Congratulations to Kevin McCarty and Chip Merlin, who were recently honored by the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center's Person of the Year Awards… Continue Reading
The LexisNexis Insurance Law Center Advisory Board released finalists for the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center Person of the Year awards for 2008. The Board invites commentary from visitors to their site through March 18, 2009. The list is as follows: Policyholder Attorney of the Year – the attorney who did the most in 2008 to … Continue Reading
LexisNexis is sponsoring an award for the Insurance Persons of the Year for 2008. Here are the categories: Policyholder Attorney of the Year – the attorney who did the most in 2008 to effectively advance policyholder positions and improve insurance law from the perspective of policyholders. Insurer Attorney of the Year — the attorney who did … Continue Reading
The Tampa Tribune ran a story, State Farm’s Exit From Florida Proving to Be a Problem for Some, which demonstrates problems consumers will have obtaining new coverage. The on-line edition of the story is somewhat entertaining because the comments show the disparate results of consumers who are shopping for insurance and confusion about underwriting. What is … Continue Reading
State Farm’s announcement to leave the Florida property insurance market has plenty of media attention. It is obvious that State Farm’s view of its actions is far different than that of its customers.… Continue Reading
Free enterprise is great until your competitors beat you. Dominant competitors may find it advantageous to combine interests to prevent new players from entering markets, destroying profit margins, and taking market share. It is amazing that there has not been more investigation and calls for transparency into the major personal lines insurance companies’ discussions and … Continue Reading
Kevin McCarty, of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, is not going to get a holiday card from Ed Rust. McCarty issued an order that is an indictment of State Farm’s honesty. Paragraph 9 of the Order states: State Farm’s cited reasons in the Withdrawal Plan are both disingenuous and misleading to the Office and policyholders … Continue Reading
State Farm has a method and reason for just about everything it does. As indicated in yesterday’s post, its actions do not always reveal its strategy.… Continue Reading
State Farm is hard to figure out. They say one thing and often do another. When you finally get to the decision makers, there is usually some logic to why they do things despite disagreement from consumers or regulators. State Farm’s announcement that it was leaving the Florida property market really has me wondering–"what’s up?" From … Continue Reading
