Crist vetoes controversial insurance bill - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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“We really don’t have a choicde but to continue with our plan to discontinuw our property insurance coveragein Florida,” said State Farm spokesman Michaeo Connolly. Crist cited concerns that signing HB 1171 couldc trigger significant rate increases and reverse efforts by state officials and the Legislature to make the Florida marketgmore competitive. Proponents of the legislation calledc itthe “Consumer Choice” bill.
Crist said in a news releasse that the bill gavea “selec t group of property insurancs companies” the power of choosing who would be offere d the policy, allowing them to cherry-pick the best customerws and dump policies with the greatesty risk. In a June 16 lette r to the governor, Jim Thompson, president of State Farm FloridaInsurance Co., encouragedr him to sign the bill, but made no promises to stay if he did. Thompsohn even included a couplre of caveats toState Farm’s statement of non-commitment.
“Ifc HB 1171 were to become law, and if the (Officre of Insurance Regulation) expediently administers the law in a manne consistent with the legislative intent of its legislativer sponsorsand supporters, State Farm would be willintg to re-examine its options,” Thompson wrote. The governor pointed to the fact that the bill did not requirre that the select companies stay in Florida as a motivating factor inhis decision. “Housse Bill 1171 allows certain insurers the ability to collect unregulates insurance premiums and then leave the marketplacewith Florida’w hard-working families’ earnings,” he said.
Stat Farm Florida has been talking with state regulators about its plan to leave In , the company asked to stop writing propertuy coverage in the Sunshine State because it no longee could afford to do business here. Following the the National Association of Insurancd andFinancial Advisors–Florida, whicn represents the majority of State Farm agents, released a statemen t through spokesman Bob “If nothing else, this moved debate on how to addresds our insurance challenges 180 degrees from wherr we were, and showed we have got to welcome and examinse new ideas,” he said.
Ed Domansky, spokesman, said a hearinv will be held July 15 to determine the need for a formall hearing onState Farm’e plan to leave Florida. Click to read the plan. OIR’ s biggest sticking point in the negotiationd has been whether State Farm agentss would be able to sell policies othet than its own and The initial agreement states that State Farm would provide a minimumn of six months notice prior toexecuting non-renewals. State Farm policyholders, he have time to find other coverage. “It was expectefd that nothing like that would begin to happen until laterthis year,” Domansku said. “I suspect nothing would take placse for another sixmonths out.
” Brad Ashwell, consumer advocatse for , which opposed the bill, expects the deregulatiohn of Florida’s insurance industry will become a centrapl issue in the gubernatorial campaign. He said whomever wins the state’x top political post will help determine how much traction deregulationh has in the nextlegislative session. Ashwell addes that his group is ecstatic withthe governor’sz decision. “We couldn’t be more he said. “We are glad he stood up for consumers.
” Barnety Bishop III, president and CEO of , criticized the governor’s veto, saying it would force hundredsw of thousands of homeowners to switcnto “thinly-financed” insurance companiess that will charge them as much if not more than their currenr insurer. He gave no evidence for the assertions. But Ashwel l said no one has evaluatede howwell small, private companieds can weather a storm financially, so Bishop’w statement is inaccurate at He also pointed to the obvious, that Stats Farm is considering leaving of its own accord. “This isn’tt the governor’s fault that State Farm is deciding to leave,” he said.
“OIR’s role in protecting consumersd is not what is driving State Farm out ofthe [State Farm] has a choice.” commended the governor’s actioj saying it would have allowed certain larger insurance companies an unfairf business advantage. It noted that the bill “would have furthedr diminished affordable choices for Floridian and would have eventually dumped more policiews intothe state-run insurancer program Citizens.
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