they hope you forget
tommyWhile we’re talking about insurance, let’s take a look at how they lie to your faces.
Let’s take State Farm, for instance.
We found out that State Farm is among the highest rates in Florida. Why? Partly because State Farm got a 52.7 percent rate increase last year. So, then the question is why did they ask for such a big increase?
May 2006: State Farm spokesman Chris Neal: “But if there is a silver lining, it is that we can continue to do business in Florida.”
July 2006: The company said that the higher premiums will allow it to keep doing business in Florida despite predictions for more hurricanes.
January 2007: Dennis Martin, State Farm’s staff director for strategy and legislative issues: We could either reduce our exposure by cutting policies, or try to stay here and keep the policies we have. We had to receive that (increase) to stay in business.”
Well, at least they have an excuse, right? Ooop. Wait just a second.
July 2007: State Farm will drop 50,000 policies.
In this last article, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink chastises State Farm: “It’s disappointing that the largest private insurer and one of the more respected companies would have such disregard for long-standing customer relationships,” she said.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty remembered the rate increases, too: “These actions are inconsistent with State Farm’s previous statements outlining their underwriting intentions.”
But Gov. Chuckie? He said State Farm’s move will make Citizens “that much stronger.”
Stronger? Citizens (the State of Florida’s insurer of last resort) will get stuck with all the high-risk properties, while private insurers take care (and profits from) of all the low-risk properties. When the big one blows in here, the State is screwed.
Those idiots in Tallahassee did nothing.
Tags: Florida, government
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July 21st, 2007 at 1:33 am
Excellent post!
Rates keep going higher, companies keep bailing, and more hurricane risk being dumped on Florida taxpayers.
This crisis would go away tomorrow if we started forcing the companies writing auto coverage to write the homeowners policies as well. There is no way the auto companies would walk from that business.
Anyway, until this happens, the only thing you can do is to shop your policy around. If your serious about doing this, check out the Home Insurance Buyers Guide at
http://www.homeinsurancebuyers.org
The Buyers Guide will be available in early August and will feature the names of companies writing new business in your county. If a company is not writing new business, it is not in the Buyers Guide - its as simple as that!
Good luck!
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I always liked the idea of simply using citizens as a windstorm insurer. Regualr losses are covered by insurance companies but if a hurricanes roars ashore citizens kicks in and backs the claims. you still file you claim with you company but the money comes from the state.
Of course they still have to fund that via taxes on us I suppose so maybe that idea won’t work.
Hard to make the insurance companies do anything they don’t want to do though, they spend a lot of money in Tallahassee. You just have to keep firing the people who work there until they do what you want. They are betting now that attention will shift before they have to do something.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
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