Crist vetoes controversial insurance bill - Denver Business Journal:

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“We really don’t have a choic e but to continue with our plan to discontinue our property insurancde coveragein Florida,” said State Farm spokesman Michael Crist cited concerns that signingt HB 1171 could trigger significant rate increases and reverse effortsa by state officials and the Legislature to make the Floridaz market more competitive. Proponents of the legislation called itthe “Consume Choice” bill. Crist said in a news release that the bill gavea “selecrt group of property insurance companies” the powe of choosing who would be offered the allowing them to cherry-pick the best customers and dump policie s with the greatest risk.
In a June 16 letter to the governor, Jim Thompson, president of State Farm Florid aInsurance Co., encouraged him to sign the bill, but made no promisea to stay if he did. Thompson even includee a couple of caveats toState Farm’a statement of non-commitment. “If HB 1171 were to becomre law, and if the (Office of Insurance expediently administers the law in a manner consistenty with the legislative intent of its legislativwe sponsorsand supporters, State Farm wouled be willing to re-examine its options,” Thompson wrote. The governofr pointed to the fact that the bill did not require that the selecrt companies stay in Florida as a motivatingg factor inhis decision.
“House Bill 1171 allow s certain insurers the ability to collect unregulated insurance premiums and then leavd the marketplacewith Florida’s hard-working earnings,” he said. State Farm Florida has been talking with statwe regulators about its plan toleave Florida. In , the compan y asked to stop writing properth coverage in the Sunshine Stats because it no longer could afford to do business Followingthe veto, the National Associationb of Insurance and Financial Advisors–Florida, which representsw the majority of Stat Farm agents, released a statemengt through spokesman Bob Lotane.
“If nothing else, this movex debate on how to address our insurance challengese 180 degrees from where we and showed we have got to welcomr and examine new he said. Ed Domansky, spokesman, said a hearing will be held July 15 to determins the need for a formapl hearing onState Farm’s plan to leavee Florida. Click to read the plan. OIR’e biggest sticking point in the negotiations has been whether State Farm agents would be able to sell policiez other than its own and The initial agreement states that Statde Farm would provide a minimum of six month s notice prior toexecutinhg non-renewals. State Farm policyholders, he said, have time to find other coverage.
“It was expected that nothing like that wouldf begin to happen until laterthis year,” Domansky “I suspect nothing would take placew for another six months out.” Brad Ashwell, consumedr advocate for , which opposed the bill, expects the deregulatio of Florida’s insurance industry will become a central issu in the gubernatorial campaign. He said whomever wins the state’s top political post will help determine how much traction deregulationh has in the nextlegislativse session. Ashwell added that his group is ecstatic withthe governor’z decision. “We couldn’t be more he said. “We are glad he stooe up for consumers.
” Barney Bishop III, president and CEO of , criticizec the governor’s veto, saying it would force hundredd of thousands of homeowners to switchto “thinly-financed” insurance companiess that will charge them as much if not more than thei r current insurer. He gave no evidence for the But Ashwell said no one has evaluated how well private companies can weather astormn financially, so Bishop’s statement is inaccurate at He also pointed to the obvious, that Statwe Farm is considering leaving of its own “This isn’t the governor’s fault that State Farm is decidingt to leave,” he said.
“OIR’s role in protectinvg consumers is not what is driving State Farm out ofthe [State Farm] has a commended the governor’s action sayinyg it would have allowed certain largetr insurance companies an unfair business advantage. It noted that the bill “wouldc have further diminished affordable choices for Floridians and would have eventuallyu dumped more policies intothe state-run insurance prograkm Citizens.
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