By RUSSELL RAY The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 13, 2009
Updated: 02/13/2009 02:32 pm
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today approved State Farm's exit from Florida under a plan that would keep state-run Citizens Property Insurance from swelling.
McCarty approved the company's plan to drop some 800,000 homeowners policies with several conditions.
"Our goal is keep as many homes as possible in the private sector at or below the rates that are currently being charged by State Farm," McCarty said during a conference call with reporters.
State Farm has 21 days to agree to McCarty's conditions or request an appeal.
Under McCarty's plan, the company must:
• Give up its Certificate of Authority within 30 days.
• "Facilitate the orderly transition of policies" to other private insurers and shall not place any policies into state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
• Issue pro-rated refunds "of premium to any policyholder seeking to voluntarily cancel or non-renew a policy and will not short-rate the return premium for any policy in any line, whether it be automobile, boat or property insurance coverage."
• Consider "all offers to buy or assume all or part of its business."
McCarty said State Farm's plan to withdraw from the property insurance business in Florida would have been "hazardous" to the State Farm policyholders and Florida taxpayers.
State Farm's plan called for dumping all of its customers into state-backed Citizens, which has nearly 1.1 million policies and is already overexposed and underfunded, McCarty said.
"We're not allowing them to warehouse these policies in Citizens," he said.
McCarty's plan would require the insurance giant to consider all offers from private insurers. Right now, State Farm agents are prohibited from writing policies for other insurers except for Citizens.
State law allows State Farm agents to offer clients "multi-line discounts" if they keep the auto insurance policy with State Farm and place the homeowners policy with Citizens.
"We are not going to allow them to hold their agents captive and not allow them to broker with other companies," McCarty said.
Requiring State Farm to consider all offers means State Farm agents "will now be free to help Floridians find the property insurance coverage that best suits their needs," said Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.
McCarty said he is confident that Florida's private insurers can absorb the bulk of policies State Farm plans to drop over two years.
"I would not be approving their withdrawal plan if I did not believe there was private sector capacity to take these policies," he said.
McCarty disagreed with critics who maintain that many of Florida's private insurers are thinly capitalized and untested.
"These are well-capitalized companies," he said. "Many of them enjoy AM Best ratings that are better and more financially sound than State Farm."
McCarty said there are 15 private insurers ready to assume State Farm's policies. He declined to name the companies, saying they are negotiating the transfer of State Farm policies.
Lisa Miller, a lobbyist representing Florida insurers, said some domestic insurance companies are financially stronger than State Farm.
One of her clients, for example, has been in business for 10 years, she said.
In the future, the bulk of Florida's homeowners polices will be carried by a growing number of smaller insurers, said Miller, a former deputy and lobbyist for the state's Office of Insurance Regulation.
"There's two philosophies," Miller said. "There's the philosophy that 30 companies should have 3 percent of the market and the philosophy that four companies should have 25 percent each. I think the economic times are supporting the former."
In a statement, State Farm said it needs time to study McCarty's plan before making any decision.
"It is our sincere hope that we can work with the Office of Insurance Regulation to establish a way for State Farm agents to service policies directly out of State Farm Florida into OIR-approved companies," the company said.
State Farm submitted its plan to drop 1.2 million policies to regulators late last month, saying it was losing $20 million a month and would run out of money to pay claims in 2011.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
CNP Owners Back Cash Bid for Natixis Insurance Unit, Echos Says
By David Whitehouse
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- CNP Assurances SA, France's largest life insurer, has the support of its shareholders for a cash bid for the insurance unit of Natixis SA, Les Echos reported, citing an unidentified person.
State-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations, which is CNP's largest investor, the French postal service's banking unit La Banque Postale and mutual bank Groupe Caisse d'Epargne are willing to contribute to the bid in line with their CNP stakes, the newspaper said. Natixis hopes to get between 800 million euros ($1.03 billion) and 1 billion euros for its insurance arm, Les Echos said.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Whitehouse in Paris at dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 10, 2008 01:16 EST
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- CNP Assurances SA, France's largest life insurer, has the support of its shareholders for a cash bid for the insurance unit of Natixis SA, Les Echos reported, citing an unidentified person.
State-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations, which is CNP's largest investor, the French postal service's banking unit La Banque Postale and mutual bank Groupe Caisse d'Epargne are willing to contribute to the bid in line with their CNP stakes, the newspaper said. Natixis hopes to get between 800 million euros ($1.03 billion) and 1 billion euros for its insurance arm, Les Echos said.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Whitehouse in Paris at dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 10, 2008 01:16 EST
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Electronic Signatures in Insurance Field
"Now that the transaction begins and ends electronically, we can fully leverage our electronic forms presentation, and processing," explains Mike Keller, Vice President Life Marketing with Farmers Insurance. "We no longer have to revert back to paper every time a signature is needed. Today, we are realizing the benefits of more accurate and efficient policy processing as well as an enhanced customer experience" To read full press release
Interlink Electronics has pioneered the use of electronic signatures in the insurance industry, and we are responsible for providing many of the top life and property casualty companies in the world with electronic signature technology. Today, the insurance industry looks to straight-through processing in order to reduce costs and increase revenues.
With deployments to over 75,000 insurance agents worldwide, our electronic signature technology has been tried-and-tested by your industry peers. Our eSign Anywhere™ Platform enables you to capture electronic signatures on a variety of documents regardless of where and when the signing occurs:
Empower your in-field agents to capture legally-binding electronic signatures in the comfort of their clients' home. Read more
Give your customers the flexibility to sign online with either a click-through signature or with their touch-screen smartphones. Read more
Adopt end-to-end electronic processes for all internal approvals and eliminate the need to print-and-sign across your entire organization. Read more
By giving you the ability to standardize on one electronic signature platform, Interlink enables you to maximize you technology investment enterprise-wide.
¹ Weber, Craig: "An E-Signature Update for US Insurers", Celent LLC December 2007 http://www.celent.com/
² Weber, Craig: "An E-Signature Update for US Insurers", Celent LLC December 2007 http://www.celent.com/
Interlink Electronics has pioneered the use of electronic signatures in the insurance industry, and we are responsible for providing many of the top life and property casualty companies in the world with electronic signature technology. Today, the insurance industry looks to straight-through processing in order to reduce costs and increase revenues.
With deployments to over 75,000 insurance agents worldwide, our electronic signature technology has been tried-and-tested by your industry peers. Our eSign Anywhere™ Platform enables you to capture electronic signatures on a variety of documents regardless of where and when the signing occurs:
Empower your in-field agents to capture legally-binding electronic signatures in the comfort of their clients' home. Read more
Give your customers the flexibility to sign online with either a click-through signature or with their touch-screen smartphones. Read more
Adopt end-to-end electronic processes for all internal approvals and eliminate the need to print-and-sign across your entire organization. Read more
By giving you the ability to standardize on one electronic signature platform, Interlink enables you to maximize you technology investment enterprise-wide.
¹ Weber, Craig: "An E-Signature Update for US Insurers", Celent LLC December 2007 http://www.celent.com/
² Weber, Craig: "An E-Signature Update for US Insurers", Celent LLC December 2007 http://www.celent.com/
Medical malpractice insurance costs drop along with claims
Medical malpractice insurance has become a soft market that benefits Florida doctors seeking lower rates.
Rates in the primary medical malpractice insurance market fell 8.6 percent in 2007, according to a study released in late October by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. That’s a welcome relief from the early part of the decade, when rates shot up by double digits in consecutive years.
A big factor is the declining numbers of closed medical malpractice claims.
Statewide, 3,553 medical malpractice claims were closed in 2007, down from 3,811 in 2006. The 2007 claims led to $523.6 million in indemnity payments and $174.7 million in insurance company fees to defense counsel. The indemnity payments declined 1.4 percent, while defense attorneys collected 5.2 percent more in fees.
The frequency of medical malpractice claims for the number of doctors in Florida is at a historic low, said Matt Gracey, CEO of Delray Beach-based Danna-Gracey, which helps doctors find medical malpractice insurance.
“That’s a reason rates are dropping fairly quickly,” he said of the declining number of claims. “We’ve been in a soft market for 18 months, and it should continue to be softer for the next two to three years.”
Claims are down because doctors are practicing better medicine, said Josh Salman, chief operating officer of Dania Beach-based Healthcare Underwriters Group, the 11th-largest medical malpractice insurer in Florida, with $10.3 million in 2007 premiums. He said tort reform in medical malpractice cases also played a role.
But medical malpractice plaintiff attorney Stuart Grossman, a partner at Grossman Roth in Miami, said the drastic drop in claims over one year is too big to realistically attribute to better medicine. He said the $500,000 cap on non-economic damages instituted by the Florida Legislature in 2003 was the real reason fewer claims are being filed.
“There are plenty of cases, but lawyers are more selective,” Grossman said. “They limited the amount you can collect on, and costs to prepare cases are the same or rising. Sometimes, you can recover no more than a few hundred thousand [dollars], no matter how good the case is.”
Salman said Healthcare Underwriters Group is getting more aggressive in defending cases, rather than settling. That, and the threat of an uninsured doctor losing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, has driven more doctors to purchase insurance, he said.
Lower medical malpractice insurance rates will help recruit more doctors to Florida, which has a mounting physician shortage as older doctors approach retirement age, Gracey said. But, it will be hard to get doctors in Florida who dropped coverage to pick it back up because it can be such a huge expense.
Even with the rate declines in 2007, Florida has some of the highest rates in the nation, he noted.
By the numbersStatewide, 3,553 medical malpractice claims were closed in 2007, down from 3,811 in 2006. The 2007 claims led to $523.6 million in indemnity payments and $174.7 million in insurance company fees to defense counsel.Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
bbandell@bizjournals.com
Rates in the primary medical malpractice insurance market fell 8.6 percent in 2007, according to a study released in late October by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. That’s a welcome relief from the early part of the decade, when rates shot up by double digits in consecutive years.
A big factor is the declining numbers of closed medical malpractice claims.
Statewide, 3,553 medical malpractice claims were closed in 2007, down from 3,811 in 2006. The 2007 claims led to $523.6 million in indemnity payments and $174.7 million in insurance company fees to defense counsel. The indemnity payments declined 1.4 percent, while defense attorneys collected 5.2 percent more in fees.
The frequency of medical malpractice claims for the number of doctors in Florida is at a historic low, said Matt Gracey, CEO of Delray Beach-based Danna-Gracey, which helps doctors find medical malpractice insurance.
“That’s a reason rates are dropping fairly quickly,” he said of the declining number of claims. “We’ve been in a soft market for 18 months, and it should continue to be softer for the next two to three years.”
Claims are down because doctors are practicing better medicine, said Josh Salman, chief operating officer of Dania Beach-based Healthcare Underwriters Group, the 11th-largest medical malpractice insurer in Florida, with $10.3 million in 2007 premiums. He said tort reform in medical malpractice cases also played a role.
But medical malpractice plaintiff attorney Stuart Grossman, a partner at Grossman Roth in Miami, said the drastic drop in claims over one year is too big to realistically attribute to better medicine. He said the $500,000 cap on non-economic damages instituted by the Florida Legislature in 2003 was the real reason fewer claims are being filed.
“There are plenty of cases, but lawyers are more selective,” Grossman said. “They limited the amount you can collect on, and costs to prepare cases are the same or rising. Sometimes, you can recover no more than a few hundred thousand [dollars], no matter how good the case is.”
Salman said Healthcare Underwriters Group is getting more aggressive in defending cases, rather than settling. That, and the threat of an uninsured doctor losing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, has driven more doctors to purchase insurance, he said.
Lower medical malpractice insurance rates will help recruit more doctors to Florida, which has a mounting physician shortage as older doctors approach retirement age, Gracey said. But, it will be hard to get doctors in Florida who dropped coverage to pick it back up because it can be such a huge expense.
Even with the rate declines in 2007, Florida has some of the highest rates in the nation, he noted.
By the numbersStatewide, 3,553 medical malpractice claims were closed in 2007, down from 3,811 in 2006. The 2007 claims led to $523.6 million in indemnity payments and $174.7 million in insurance company fees to defense counsel.Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
bbandell@bizjournals.com
CNP Owners Back Cash Bid for Natixis Insurance Unit, Echos Says
By David Whitehouse
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- CNP Assurances SA, France's largest life insurer, has the support of its shareholders for a cash bid for the insurance unit of Natixis SA, Les Echos reported, citing an unidentified person.
State-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations, which is CNP's largest investor, the French postal service's banking unit La Banque Postale and mutual bank Groupe Caisse d'Epargne are willing to contribute to the bid in line with their CNP stakes, the newspaper said. Natixis hopes to get between 800 million euros ($1.03 billion) and 1 billion euros for its insurance arm, Les Echos said.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Whitehouse in Paris at dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 10, 2008 01:16 EST
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- CNP Assurances SA, France's largest life insurer, has the support of its shareholders for a cash bid for the insurance unit of Natixis SA, Les Echos reported, citing an unidentified person.
State-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations, which is CNP's largest investor, the French postal service's banking unit La Banque Postale and mutual bank Groupe Caisse d'Epargne are willing to contribute to the bid in line with their CNP stakes, the newspaper said. Natixis hopes to get between 800 million euros ($1.03 billion) and 1 billion euros for its insurance arm, Les Echos said.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Whitehouse in Paris at dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 10, 2008 01:16 EST
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