Affordable Insurance Under the Regulatory Microscope
New York and Florida are polar opposites when it comes to winter weather.
But the two states are forming a combined massive cold front when it comes to finding, buying and selling affordable insurance just ahead of an expected blizzard of Congressional reforms.
The Empire State - under the watchful eye of one of the nation's toughest former consumer protection advocates, Governor Eliot Spitzer - is often considered by its statehood peers as the Gold Standard for most types of industry reform.
Legislators in other states model bills after New York's and applaud heavy lifting Governor Spitzer conducts on their behalf to introduce law-making templates governing everything from consumer Lemon Laws to banking and insurance regulation.
Florida owes yet another legislative nod to New York this week, as the Sunshine State's Department of Insurance flexed its muscles over the usually quiet holiday season.
Over the course of Christmas week, officials there clamped down on one brokerage it gave a bunch business to; loosened its grip on the nation's largest insurance company, allowing the "Good Neighbor" to resume writing homeowner's policies after a two-year stalemate over hurricane losses; and finally, gave another fledgling brokerage some 23,000 policies to service.
The Good Neighbor insurer will remain in Florida under a negotiated agreement that allows it to cancel about 15 percent of its policies and raise rates 14.
8 percent.
The deal also allows its contract agents to place the business that the company non-renews with other private insurance companies.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced the deal.
This comes after two unsuccessful attempts to raise its rates by more than 40 percent for home owners currently covered by the Good Neighbor and announcing its intentions to leave the state entirely.
Concluding the deal is a win-win for both the state and the company, Florida insurance officials said the agreement is better than the company cancelling all of its 810,000 home and condo policies and having many of them end up in the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
, which was a concern with the insurer's original exit plan.
In another move, regulators have restricted Magnolia Insurance, a Coconut Grove-based brokerage, from writing any new business until May, under a 120-day moratorium.
Magnolia will be restricted in the writing and renewing of business under the consent order with the Office of Insurance Regulation.
It will also need OIR approval for any major transaction, asset transfer, reinsurance agreement, investment or management change.
The company has agreed to work with OIR to develop a "corrective plan of action" that could include being acquired.
The state action comes a few weeks after the insurer lost its rating from an actuarial firm, Demotech, for failure to submit current financials and proof of implementation of promised management changes.
Magnolia is bound by the Florida statutes to appropriately notify insureds of any non-renewals.
Policies that are slated to renew now and in the first few weeks of January 2010 could not be properly noticed for non-renewal by Magnolia.
Magnolia will renew these policies if the policyholders or agents request renewal.
However, the company noted, policyholders and agents should be aware that renewal with Magnolia is at their own risk.
Officials said agents should seek to place any policy slated for renewal with another admitted carrier prior to the policy expiration date.
If that fails, agents may try to place the business with the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Co.
State-run Citizens will be unloading about 23,000 homeowner's policies to Clearwater-based Homeowner's Choice Property and Casualty.
The firm, solely funded as a cooperative between state homeowner policyholders and its management team, has built up its portfolio since its founding in 2006 with former Citizens policies the state considers too risky to service any longer.
Florida OIR will nearly double the company's business, which already manages some $100 million in premiums, according to its web site.
With increased scrutiny over the relatively stable homeowner's insurance market, we can only expect that once affordable healthcare reform becomes law, regulators in Florida, New York and other states carrying considerable financial risk will take a look at health insurance policies with as much bravado.
But the two states are forming a combined massive cold front when it comes to finding, buying and selling affordable insurance just ahead of an expected blizzard of Congressional reforms.
The Empire State - under the watchful eye of one of the nation's toughest former consumer protection advocates, Governor Eliot Spitzer - is often considered by its statehood peers as the Gold Standard for most types of industry reform.
Legislators in other states model bills after New York's and applaud heavy lifting Governor Spitzer conducts on their behalf to introduce law-making templates governing everything from consumer Lemon Laws to banking and insurance regulation.
Florida owes yet another legislative nod to New York this week, as the Sunshine State's Department of Insurance flexed its muscles over the usually quiet holiday season.
Over the course of Christmas week, officials there clamped down on one brokerage it gave a bunch business to; loosened its grip on the nation's largest insurance company, allowing the "Good Neighbor" to resume writing homeowner's policies after a two-year stalemate over hurricane losses; and finally, gave another fledgling brokerage some 23,000 policies to service.
The Good Neighbor insurer will remain in Florida under a negotiated agreement that allows it to cancel about 15 percent of its policies and raise rates 14.
8 percent.
The deal also allows its contract agents to place the business that the company non-renews with other private insurance companies.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced the deal.
This comes after two unsuccessful attempts to raise its rates by more than 40 percent for home owners currently covered by the Good Neighbor and announcing its intentions to leave the state entirely.
Concluding the deal is a win-win for both the state and the company, Florida insurance officials said the agreement is better than the company cancelling all of its 810,000 home and condo policies and having many of them end up in the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
, which was a concern with the insurer's original exit plan.
In another move, regulators have restricted Magnolia Insurance, a Coconut Grove-based brokerage, from writing any new business until May, under a 120-day moratorium.
Magnolia will be restricted in the writing and renewing of business under the consent order with the Office of Insurance Regulation.
It will also need OIR approval for any major transaction, asset transfer, reinsurance agreement, investment or management change.
The company has agreed to work with OIR to develop a "corrective plan of action" that could include being acquired.
The state action comes a few weeks after the insurer lost its rating from an actuarial firm, Demotech, for failure to submit current financials and proof of implementation of promised management changes.
Magnolia is bound by the Florida statutes to appropriately notify insureds of any non-renewals.
Policies that are slated to renew now and in the first few weeks of January 2010 could not be properly noticed for non-renewal by Magnolia.
Magnolia will renew these policies if the policyholders or agents request renewal.
However, the company noted, policyholders and agents should be aware that renewal with Magnolia is at their own risk.
Officials said agents should seek to place any policy slated for renewal with another admitted carrier prior to the policy expiration date.
If that fails, agents may try to place the business with the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Co.
State-run Citizens will be unloading about 23,000 homeowner's policies to Clearwater-based Homeowner's Choice Property and Casualty.
The firm, solely funded as a cooperative between state homeowner policyholders and its management team, has built up its portfolio since its founding in 2006 with former Citizens policies the state considers too risky to service any longer.
Florida OIR will nearly double the company's business, which already manages some $100 million in premiums, according to its web site.
With increased scrutiny over the relatively stable homeowner's insurance market, we can only expect that once affordable healthcare reform becomes law, regulators in Florida, New York and other states carrying considerable financial risk will take a look at health insurance policies with as much bravado.
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