Insurance resources posted for September & August

Just in case you haven’t kept up ... new reports and presentations for September and August are posted on the "2012 Resource Library" tab of TallyInsLaw.com, including:

Property & casualty:

• "Impact Analysis of HB119," the independent actuarial study of savings expected from the 2012 PIP (no-fault auto insurance) reform law (Aug. 20, 2012).

• Office of Insurance Regulation's caveats on the "Impact Analysis of HB119" (Aug. 21, 2012).

• "Historical U.S. Hurricanes That Would Cause $10 Billion or More in Insured Losses Today," a report by Karen Clark & Company (Aug. 21, 2012).

• "Twenty Years of Progress: Advances in the Property Insurance Industry Since Hurricane Andrew," a special report from Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (Aug. 22, 2012).

• Citizens' Rate Hearing Press Kit - a summary of Citizens' proposed rate increase proposal for 2013 (Sept. 20, 2012).

• OIR announces Citizens take-out approvals - nearly 300,000 policies have been approved for removal from Citizens in non-bonus and non-loan takeout plans (Sept. 24, 2012)

Life & health:

• Long-term Care Managed Care Technical Advisory Workgroup Final Report (Aug. 21, 2012).

• Allianz Life Insurance Co. multi-state settlement agreement and OIR press release (Sept. 4, 2012) regarding sale of fixed annuity products.

This summary was prepared by Perry Cone and posted at TallyInsLaw.com.
Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Resource library updated - P&C and Health Insurance

If you haven't visited it recently, the 2012 Resource Library has been updated. June-July additions marked with an * include the following resources:

• Citizens SB408 sinkhole savings actuarial analysis, depopulation committee exhibits, and 2013 rate filings exhibits (bottom of heading no. 2. Citizens).

• OIR's Order suspending prior-approval requirement for P&C form filings (bottom of heading no. 4. Property Insurance).

• State of the Florida Homeowners’ Insurance Market presentation by OIR Commissioner Kevin McCarty (bottom of heading no. 5. General Insurance).

• Health insurance presentations by OIR to the Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board (bottom of heading no. 9 Health Care).

This summary was prepared by Perry Cone and posted at TallyInsLaw.com.

Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Passed House or ready for House vote, end of week 5, 2012

Seven insurance bills have either been passed by the Florida House of Representatives or approved by all required House committees, as of the end of week 5, 2012 Florida legislative session. All are waiting for additional committee action in the Senate.

The following measures have passed the House as of the end of week 5:

Insurance "hodgepodge" bill approved by House subcommittee, week 3 of 2012 session

Over a dozen miscellaneous changes to the Insurance Code were approved in the first committee hearing on HB 1101. On Tuesday, January 24, the House Insurance & Banking Committee voted favorably on HB 1101 which contains revisions to property insurance, motor vehicle insurance, travel insurance, adjuster and agent license exams, commercial surplus lines disclosure, and reinsurance summary statements. A committee hearing has not yet been scheduled on the Senate companion bill, SB 1620.

A summary of the current House bill is provided below. 

Property insurance reform has productive Week 2 in 2012 Florida Legislature - Citizens and Cat Fund called Florida's "two sick children"

Two initiatives intended to further reform Florida's property insurance market were heard in committee during week 2 of Florida's 2012 legislative session. The reforms are directed at both Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, characterized in House debate as Florida's "two sick children."

Insurance legislation resources update 2012

The 2012 Legislative Resources tab of TallyInsLaw.com has been updated with the addition of these new items:

• YouTube Video advocating the downsizing of the Cat Fund (Jan. 18, 2012).
• Workable Solutions for Florida’s Challenging Insurance Problems – thoughts on PIP and property insurance reform, by The James Madison Institute (Jan. 2012).  
• Citizens Property Insurance Corp., CEO Presentation to Financial Services Commission (Governor and Cabinet) – progress made in operational and underwriting changes to downsize Citizens (Jan. 18, 2012).

This summary was prepared by Perry Cone and posted at TallyInsLaw.com.

Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Week 1 - 2012 Florida Legislature: rapid start for PIP, Citizens depop, captives

The 2012 legislative session got off to a rapid start – from an insurance perspective – with important and minor bills moving through the committee process.  Here’s a summary of week 1 action:

• PIP in the House – Emergency Care Coverage substituted for PIP.  The House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee approved HB 119, an aggressive reform package that would replace personal injury protection (PIP) motor vehicle insurance with new Emergency Care Coverage (ECC).  Under this initial version of the House bill, ECC would provide hospital emergency room treatment within the first 72 hours following an accident.  After the emergency, covered treatment would be confined to a very limited group of health care providers (medical physicians, osteopathic physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and registered nurse practitioners).  Also in the package are significant legal reforms, including caps on attorney fees.  This House bill is highly controversial and likely to go through many changes.  For further detail, see House Staff Analysis of HB 119 (Jan. 10, 2012). 

Demotech's Florida property insurance reports

Two reports related to Florida's property insurance market have been released by Demotech, Inc., a financial analysis firm.  Last month's report is Impact of Storms on the Florida Property Insurance Market 1990-2010 (Dec. 2011), which reflects Demotech's research of "the tropical cyclones that impacted Florida over the past twenty years and how these cyclones influenced the insurance industry and the success of Florida insurance companies."  See Demotech abstract.

This month's release is Comparative Expense Study of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Jan. 2012), which finds that "expense levels of Citizens compare favorably to other property writers focused in a single state."  According to the abstract:

2012 Key Legislative Issues & Resources - Florida Insurance Law

Resources on key issues for the 2012 Florida legislative session are accumulated on a new page of TallyInsLaw.com.  Issues already receiving high attention are: (1) PIP; (2) property insurance; (3) bad faith and tort reform; and (4) workers compensation.  Updated - go to this link

This summary was prepared by Perry Cone and posted at www.TallyInsLaw.com/

Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Florida graded "F" in P&C regulatory environment

The Heartland Institute has handed Florida a grade of "F" for its property and casualty insurance regulatory environment.  See Article: Property & Casualty Insurance Report Card, 2011 Edition.  Joining Florida in the "F" category were Texas, California, and Hawaii.

In grading the 50 states for their P&C environments, The Heartland had two focuses:  (1) How free are consumers to choose the property and casualty insurance products they want?  And (2) how free are insurers to provide the property and casualty insurance products consumers say they want?

Week 6: "busy" week for Florida insurance reform legislation

Six of the key insurance bills I'm following had action in the House or Senate (or both) last week -- Week 6 of the Florida 2011 Legislative Session.  So I think that it's fair to say that last week was a "busy" one.  Next week (Week 7) will be relatively quiet, as the Senate is in recess all week for the Easter/Passover Holidays, and the House meets only on Wednesday (April 20) and Thursday (April 21).  

When the Legislators return, only two weeks (8 & 9) will remain in the Regular Session (unless extended).  There are still many differences to resolve between House and Senate versions of the bills, and most bills contain highly controversial provisions.

Here is a summary of action last week:

Property reform bills get serious attention during week 5

Three property insurance reform bills were voted out of committees last week (week 5 of the Florida 2011 legislative session).  There are now only four weeks left in the session, which ends May 6 (although no action is expected during the week of April 18, when the legislature takes a recess for the Easter/Passover Holidays).  Here is a summary of last week's action:

• Big Property/Sinkhole Package.  This legislation made significant progress in both the Senate and the House.  In the Senate, S 408 was voted out of the Senate Rules Committee and is now ready for consideration by the full Senate.  In the House, H 803 was approved by the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee (it is scheduled for review by other House committees).

Cone quoted in PropertyCasualty360.com

I appreciate being quoted by Joan Collier, in her recent article on pending Florida property insurance reform in PropertyCasualty360.com:

"A more realistic view of the legislation is expressed by Perry Cone, an attorney at GrayRobinson and former general counsel for Citizens. Cone noted, 'Senate and House leadership seem committed to helping consumers by revitalizing the private insurance market rather than over-regulating and relying on assessments to subsidize depressed rates.'"

See Property Insurance Bill Advances (April 6, 2011).

This summary was prepared by Perry Cone and posted at www.tallyinslaw.com/

Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Key bills scheduled for week 5 of Florida Legislative Session

Florida legislative committees are set to hear key insurance bills during week 5 of session:

• Monday, April 4:
• Bad Faith (H 1187) is scheduled for its first hearing in the House, before the Civil Justice Subcommittee.
• Medical Malpractice (S 1590) is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health Regulation Committee.

Property insurance reform inches forward during week 4

Here is a run-down on key property insurance bills during week 4 of the Florida 2011 legislative session:

• Rates for Property Insurance.  The House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee (HIB) voted to eliminate the “flex rating”/“choice” proposal from H 885 and replace it with an expansion of the expedited process for recoupment of reinsurance costs that is currently in place.  The HIB-approved bill would allow an insurer to request a recoupment rate increase of up to 15 percent per policyholder (compared to 10 percent under current law), and permit the filing to include related expenses and profits (not permitted under current law).  Flex rating is still contained in the Senate bill (S 1330) that has been approved by two Senate committees.

YouTube video on Citizens bill stars Sen. Alan Hays

 
Even Florida State Senators are on YouTube these days.  Senator Alan Hays uses YouTube to air his views on Senate Bill 1714 to shrink Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.  To watch, go to this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ycMKR4zzXw.

Bill banning hurricanes proposed (sort of)

On Friday, April 1st, the Heartland Institute today unveiled a plan to erase Florida’s $3 billion budget gap.  The plan:  ban hurricanes.  The release is posted below -- enjoy.

Citizens bills approved by two committees in week 4

Companion bills intended to restore Citizens Property Insurance Corporation back to an “insurer of last resort” were approved by Senate and House committees last week.  Both bills raise the so-called annual “glide path” for increasing Citizens’ rates toward actuarial soundness. 

Messaging by Reform Opponents Is Challenge for Florida P&C Industry

Florida property and casualty (P&C) reform proponents continue to face challenges, including strong messaging from trial attorneys. The attorneys' tools include former Insurance Consumer Advocate (ICA) Sean Shaw and a new website www.policyholdersofflorida.com/.

Opponents of P&C insurance reform used a press conference last week to roll out their assertion that “big insurance giveaways” and “rate hike approvals” are “sailing through the Florida Legislature.”

Property reform: two steps forward, two ½ steps back

Property insurance bills moved forward, although not unscathed, during week three of the 2011 Florida legislative session. Here is a summary of last week’s activity:

• Big Property Bill/Sinkholes. SB 408 was voted out of the Senate Budget Committee, with some weakening. The Committee approved amendments sponsored by Sen. Mike Fasano that: (a) would repeal “use and file” for residential homeowners filings; and (b) watered down the insurance industry's attempt to bring replacement cost value (RCV) coverage more in line with national norms. The Senate bill has now been the subject of five committee meetings (two in Budget, three in Banking and Insurance), plus workshops.