Well, That Didn't Last Long!

Right after I wrote my last blog I saw a follow-up article in Saturday's St Petersburg Times that had the headline "Allstate Back In Business". I would have wrote a new blog then but I was under the weather with a bug and just couldn't make myself type.

I'm also glad to see some people were commenting on my posts, even if they disagreed with me. I'm not sure if they are Allstate shareholders or not.....

The paper explains that a three-judge appellate panel overturned an order by state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty banning Allstate from selling new policies in any line of insurance in the state.

Without issuing an opinion, 1st District Court of Appeal Judges Edward Barfield, Michael Allen and James Wolf ruled that Allstate could resume normal business immediately.

Regulators from McCarty's office are drafting a response detailing why Allstate's license should be suspended. They also have the option of imposing a one-time fine of up to $25,000. But Allstate is being fined $25,000 per day since September for refusing to comply with similar subpoenas in Missouri and they have NOT paid a penny of the fine yet! So I guess a $25,000 fine by Florida wouldn't bother them too much!

Not to beat a dead horse, but all of this is very simple. The state has subpoenaed Allstate to turn over documents for an investigation and Allstate has not complied. Do they think they are above the law? They sure act like it in Missouri and here.

Glad to see a few comments from Allstate fans. These posts are not about property insurance, auto insurance or even insurance companies in general even though I do believe they are ripping off people all over the country and making tons of profit even though they say paying too many claims will hurt them. The posts are about them thumbing their nose at state regulators and courts. If they didn't have anything to hide why not produce ALL of the documents requested, not just those that show no wrong doings? It's simply about compliance with Florida law.

Oh, and my comment about people dropping Allstate and finding other car insurance seemed to bother a reader. I don't recall telling people to find other property insurance in 30 days. There aren't many companies writing property policies.
The state's Insurance company, Citizens, does cover a majority of homes and you had no choice to join them because your old company quit the business. And I do agree that insurance companies should be required to sell property insurance if they sell auto insurance in the state. But they would figure out a way to make the premiums too high or wiggle out of paying a lot of the claims.
He was wrong on one point. ALL property insurance in the state should be sold by Citizens and tell all other companies they can't sell any homeowners policies!

With all of the revenue from every home in the state, plenty of them in areas that never receive storm damage, there would be plenty of reserve to pay claims. And they could charge more fair rates and not gouge the consumer.

As Richard Ross from Brooksville, Florida wrote in an opinion section of the St Petersburg Times, "Now it's time to take the final step and revoke the license of all insurance companies selling homeowners insurance in Florida and have every policy written by Citizens."
His logic, as well as mine, is that unlike a for-profit company that wants to "cherry pick", Citizens charter can be set so that when there is money in the bank to cover "worst case" losses, operating profits would be returned to the policyholders the way rural electric companies return profits now. Build up a good claims-chest and then start returning profits.
Ross also believes that another benefit is that auto rates would drop as companies would have to get aggressive to win that profitable business.

And so it goes on.......