Fla. Senate ‘Invites’ 5 Insurance Co. Execs to Provide Sworn Testimony

The Florida Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability sent letters to five property and casualty insurance company executives Tuesday requesting their presence in Tallahassee on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 to provide sworn testimony.

In the letter, the committee said it wants the executives to answer questions regarding compliance with legislation (HB 1A), created during a special session in January 2007, which requires insurers to pass savings from lower cost, state-funded reinsurance onto consumers. The committee said it has questions about their company’s or group of companies’ rate filings with the state Office of Insurance Regulation and the factors used to justify those filings.

One year after the reforms passed, significant concerns remain about the extent to which homeowners are experiencing the insurance savings anticipated under the new law, the committee wrote.

The invitees are: Michael Dury, chief financial officer, Hartford Insurance Co. of the Midwest and the Hartford Group; John F. Auer, chief executive officer, American Strategic Insurance Corp.; William G. Jurgensen chief executive officer, Nationwide Insurance Co. of Florida; Michael Hill, chief financial officer, Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance Co., and Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.; and Joseph Richardson Jr., chief executive officer, Allstate Floridian Indemnity Co., and Allstate Floridian Insurance Co.

The committee is authorized under Florida statutes to “issue subpoena and other necessary process to compel the attendance of witnesses.”

The senators requested that the recipients confirm their pending presence in writing no later than close of business on Jan. 22.

The committee’s letter instructs recipients to plan to make an opening statement and be prepared to answer questions.

According to the document, the ultimate goal of the Senate Committee is to have an “informative and productive dialogue on lessons learned” in implementing last year’s law, and to “identify opportunities to enhance the property insurance market and promote the safety and security of homeowners in this state.”

Selection Criteria

In selecting this session’s invitees, the Senate said it started with two categories: companies that received a notice of intent to disapprove by the Office of Insurance Regulation, based on their rate filings for homeowners policies; and companies that made homeowners rate filings that have been approved by the OIR.

The lawmakers then ranked these companies further to select which ones to call. For the companies that received a notice of intent to disapprove by the OIR based on their rate filings for homeowners policies, they ranked rank the companies by the percent rate increase (adding the approved presumed factor rate filing and the proposed true-up filing); and from the companies with the highest percent rate increases, they select the three companies with the largest market shares (based on number of policies written).

For the companies that made homeowners rate filings that have been approved by the OIR, they ranked the companies by the approved percent rate reduction (adding the approved presumed factor rate filing and the proposed true-up filing); and of those companies with the greatest approved percentage rate reductions, selected the two companies with the largest market shares.

Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, appointed the Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability last week.

The Committee will be co-chaired by Sen. Jeff Atwater, R- North Palm Beach, and Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, D- Hallandale Beach. The vice-chairs will be Sen. Bill Posey, R- Rockledge, and Sen. Alex Villalobos, R- Miami. The committee will be comprised of members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Source: Florida Senate

Topics Florida Legislation Homeowners