[sunrico90]

Made it to the news:

Allstate Floridian says it will shed up to 106,000 property insurance policies, sending them to a 2-month-old alternative.

Royal Palm Insurance Co. began providing property insurance options through more than 1,000 Allstate agencies across Florida in November.

Allstate says homeowners policies that Royal Palm will offer to take will begin expiring in mid-April.

That's despite Allstate already having cut back its Florida business and its state approval for an 8.2 percent rate hike for both new and renewal business as of Feb. 11.

Before that, Allstate last increased its rates by a statewide average of 16.3 percent in October 2005.

"Florida is the nation's most challenging property insurance market, and helping to bring new capital to the state will improve insurance availability in many communities," says Phil Lawson, president of Allstate Floridian. "We are all in this property insurance crisis together -- and together we have to find a resolution."

Lawson says customers who accept an offer from Royal Palm will be able to continue to work with their current Allstate agency and may contact that agency for more information on their specific homeowner's policy.

In terms of larger insurance cost and access problems, Allstate says it supports policymakers who call for creating a national catastrophe plan.

[sunrico90]

TALLAHASSEE -- Opposition to insurance reforms offered by Gov. Charlie Crist rose a notch today from one of Florida's most powerful business lobbies.

Warning of a "meltdown" and "financial house of cards," Barney Bishop, chief executive officer of Associated Industries of Florida, blasted promises to lower premiums while forcing insurers to underwrite more risk.

"It is easy to blame insurance companies for our problems, but if Floridians are to enjoy a healthy and competitive insurance marketplace, the governor and the Legislature must be careful to send the right message," Bishop said.

Insurance reform was a central theme of Crist's campaign to become governor. He roundly promised to seek lower rates, to require national insurers to shed state subsidiaries and to require companies to write home insurance in Florida if they also write it in other states and want to continue selling profitable auto and life policies.

Barney on Thursday grouped those ideas with what he called "knee jerk reactions." In their stead, he called for "truthfulness" -- telling consumers there is little Florida can do to immediately lower painful insurance rates.

The business lobby, which also sells workers compensation insurance itself, has organized a group that includes bankers and Realtors, called the Florida Hurricane Crisis Coalition.

It is pitching its own set of solutions the keep Florida close to its current path: higher rates at Citizens Property Insurance, limited expansion of the state Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, and continued state funding for home strengthening programs.

Crist and legislative leaders promise to call the Legislature into special session Jan. 16 to deal with insurance.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

He roundly promised to seek lower rates, to require national insurers to shed state subsidiaries and to require companies to write home insurance in Florida if they also write it in other states and want to continue selling profitable auto and life policies.

And this is EXACTLY what needs to be done! Since we are basically forced to have HOI when you have a mortgage, the insurance companies need to be regulated heavily, or they can say goodbye to our 20 million people market!

It's absolute CRAP that insurance companies can see record profits and benefits to executives, and then claim they need to "raise rates" because they're subsidiaries, carved exclusively to sell to the Florida market, run out of cash one year. Plus, they are re-insured by others!! Must they make a profit EVERY year?

I just don't get it. Where does all the money we pay each year GO, anyway? If you have paid $20k over the life of your policy without a claim, and then make a claim of $5000 one year to replace shingles on your roof from a storm, why on earth do we just "take it" when they say, "oops, gotta raise your premium now!" Isn't that the POINT of insurance?

[Jammie]

Here's something that I just don't understand. I'm not complaining that we have extremely high insurance rates in the midwest, BUT after 9/11 our rates inched up a tad. They said it was because we all had to share in the devastation of 9/11. Now whenever our rates go up, people in our area always hear that it's because of the hurricane damage that has happened in the southern states. And basically, that's what insurance is~it's a way of distributing money for those who have a tragedy, whether it's yourself or the next person. So, what I'm wondering is this~Floridians and other southern states paid premiums for years when few claims were turned in. Now that claims had to be paid out, your insurance has gone through the roof and everyone elses has gone up a bit across the country. It almost appears that the insurance companies are coming out quite well.