|
IS COASTAL ALABAMA MORE EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR
THAN THE REST OF THE STATE?
HHII asks if coastal Alabama is indeed more expensive to repair than the rest of the state.
The Department of Insurance does not collect data by zip code or county. It is unable to produce a 20-year history of claims in Mobile or Baldwin Counties to compare with the same period of time in, say, Birmingham or Huntsville.
There have been more than 400 tornadoes in Alabama since Hurricane Ivan. FEMA declared 65 of 67 Alabama's counties
disaster areas after Ivan. Strong circumstantial evidence indicates the coastal counties are no more expensive to repair due to wind and hail than the state average.
If our coastal counties are more expensive, the difference is not hundreds of percent. The state average for a $150,000 house, for wind, hail, fire etc,
with a $500 deductible, is about $900.
If we are no more expensive to repair than the rest of the state, then the DOI should enforce fair premiums throughout the state.
HHII believes that the DOI should collect, by zip code, by peril, an aggregate annual total of losses; total of premiums and number of policies. It also believes the DOI should use the data as a guide when enforcing fair pricing around the state.
Posted 11/20/2010
HHII MEETS WITH UPSTATE LEGISLATORS
As part of its educational strategy about the importance of SB2,
HHII was able to schedule meetings in Montgomery with several influential
upstate legislators on May 4, 2011.
In setting up the meetings it became apparent that none of the
senators or representatives HHII talked to knew anything about
SB2 and the rationale behind it. They all assume the coast is
more expensive to repair than the rest of the state and have no
idea that the DOI isn't collecting data in such a way as to
determine if that is true. They were totally uninformed.
Revised 5/5/2011
Rationale for the Property Insurance Clarity Bill
Posted 3/2/2011
WHY HHII WANTS THE BILL
HHII believes the most effective way to determine if the insurance rates
charged coastal county residents are fair and equitable is by making
each county's paid claims and collected premiums data visible to
the public. To achieve this, HHII is supporting a Department of
Insurance Transparency Bill. Transparency Bills were introduced in
both houses by our local legislators at the last legislative session but
failed to make it out of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee.
Bills are now being modified to include commercial property in addition
to homeowners insurance. HHII intends to urge our
legislatures to introduce and champion these Transparency Bills in the
2011 session.
Posted 10/22/2010
WHY TRANSPARENCY IS NEEDED
The public needs to see the state
insurance department's data, its actuarial models and other
material, as is possible in other states, such as
Missouri. We're told over and over that
it's more costly to insure our coastal counties. Since when?
We've been insured at about the same price as the rest of the
state for generations. What's changed? Senator Tripp Pittman
says his research indicates 65% of the claims for one insurance
company were in counties outside of Mobile and Baldwin. An
insurance association web page says 1,200 tornadoes hit the US a
year. How do we know that the coastal counties are more
expensive to insure? What were the actual aggregate costs
of claims after Ivan and Katrina on a county-by-county basis all
over the state? What about county-by-county claims each year
during the 25 years between Hurricanes Frederic and Ivan? The
Department ofInsurance won't release this information. The
Insurance Commissioner's office permits large disparities in
what coastal counties are charged for fire insurance (see
related MPR
news article 4/5/2009). If it permits this, why should we
believe it's making sure the coastal counties are treated fairly
for wind and hail?
The best way to settle this is by opening up the State Insurance
Commission to the public. It would show whether the coastal
counties are more expensive than inland counties and, if so,
whether they're 15% more expensive, 50% or more. Not only that:
people around the state, not just in the coastal counties, would
probably benefit if the Alabama Department of Insurance is more
transparent. Most people we talk to about this seem
surprised to learn that it's not transparent already.
Original Post
Insurance Reports from
Missouri Department
of Insurance
This is the transparency HHII wants from Alabama's DOI
|
FAIRHOPE SUPPORTS CLARITY BILL
Fairhope City Council approved a resolution
of support for the Clarity Bill at their 2/14/2011 meeting. Thanks and congratulations
are due to Councilwoman Debbie Quinn and the work of Sarah Harris and Jonny Chaney and PFAC in general.
Posted 2/17/2011
BALDWIN COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
SUBMITS RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT TRANSPARENCY BILL
Baldwin County has asked parent Alabama
Association of Realtors to support the Transparency Bill and
make it a high priority on their legislative agenda.
Read resolution
Posted 12/16/2010
BALDWIN LEGISLATORS SUPPORT BILL
Sen. Brooks has committed to sponsor the Transparency Bill
in 2011. He is ready to submit our bill yesterday!!!
He wants the final version ASAP so he can submit it to Legsialtive
Reference Service. He would like to have it go into the Senate as the
first bill for the next session, getting it labelled Senate Bill 1.
Rep. Faust is similarly
supportive.
Look for more detailed reports on Legislative news page soon.
Updated 11/30/2010
Coastal Recovery Commission of Alabama
Insurance Subcommittee Ignores HHII Input
The last meeting of the Insurance Subcommittee on November
11, 2010 the sub-committee totally repudiated what had
been agreed upon in the October 29 meeting. First they refused to
agree specifically to reference the HHII Transparency Bill and forced
the vote on including “a” transparency bill that the legislature would
work out. In the final recommendations, not even the words 'Transparency Bill'
appear, as you can see from the November 11 Discussion Notes
& Final
Recommendations
.
There were widely divergent views on what these words meant with at
least one insurance representative stating the information HHII sought
was impossible to provide. Others equated it with making rate
filings public. It is clear the insurance companies are adamently
and unanimously against any transparency bill.
You can read all the Discussion Notes, the Final Recommendations, and find more information
about the Insurance Subcommittee here.
Updated 11/25/2010
Transparency Bills Killed
in Alabama Legislature Regular Session 2010
At State Senator Lowell Barron's direction, the
Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted down
all six coastal insurance
bills on March 31, 2010, including Transparency Bills.
Original Post
HB 713 Gets Surprise Public Hearing
March 25, 2010
The Transparency Bill had a Public Hearing in the House Banking and Insurance Committee Thursday, March 25,
2010.
According to what the House Clerk told us, it was requested in letter form by the Lobbyist Firm Fine and Geddy (spelling?), one of the more prestigious lobbyist firms in Montgomery, one of several that represent insurance companies. The letter was delivered Tuesday or Wednesday. The annoucement of the Public Hearing was posted on the House website at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The hearing then held Thursday. Rep Joe Faust indicates that the Lobbyist request for a sudden Public Hearing on the Transparency Bill resulted from his (Joe's) push to get the bill out of committee on Wednesday.
Clever, quick move by the insurance lobbyists. Keeps the public out, don't you think?
Hmmmm. This is encouraging. When lobbyists use smooth procedural tricks to single out and shut down one of 19 insurance bills in the hopper, that suggests to me there's concern about the sensibility and potential of the bill.
As we understand it right now, no action was taken. No moves have been made in the Senate.
Question: if a letter written by a lobbyist can create a public hearing, can a letter written by normal people do the same?
Here's a few phone numbers if you have time:
Clerk of the House (who has the info on how the hearing got snuck into existence):
Brandy: 334-353-3944
Chairman of the House Banking and Insurance Committee is Rep Leslie Vance (D) 334-242-7687 or 334-242-7600
Comittee activity days are usually Wednesdays not Thursdays. The hearing was not on the House web site Monday.
Original Post
|
CLARITY BILL TO HAVE PUBLIC HEARING FEBRUARY 16
SB210, Property
& Insurance Clarity Act, will have a public hearing of the
2012 version this
Thursday morning.
This bill would require insurance
companies transacting business in the state to provide policy and premium information to the Department of Insurance.
This bill would require the department to
provide on the department website aggregate data,
separately for homeowners and commercial property
insurance policies, of the number of policies written, the direct earned premiums, and the direct
incurred losses representing the total of every
insurance company doing business in Alabama. This bill would also require the department to post on the department website a comprehensive
description of the actuarial model used by the
department for homeowner's and commercial
properties risk and other related data.
The bill is being sponsored by Senator Pittman. It is the
third year of trying to get this bill out of committee and into
the originating house for action. Please join HHII in
standing with Senator Pittman in Montgomery to show our support
for this bill.
Posted 2/14/2012
CLARITY BILL NOW SB399
SB399 was introduced during the 2011 regular
legislative session into the Senate Banking and Insurance
Committee by Sen. Brooks on April 21, 2011. Status is Pending Committee Action in House of Origin.
Posted 6/9/2011
CLARITY BILL (SB2) Final Version
Read final version of Property Insurance
Clarity Act
.
Posted 2/10/2011
LATEST REVISION TO HB713
Bill to renamed
The Legislative Engagement Committee has
whittled the bill into the form that is
attached. Anyone who has time, please read and
make final comments. You can read all the previous bills
and submit comments on the
HHII Discussion Forum.
Posted 11/30/2010
REVISED TRANSPARENCY BILL (HB713)
Read revised version of HB713
and suggested revisions
which will be incorporated before Bill is introduced in 2011
legislative session.
Posted 11/20/2010
Transparency Bills Intoduced in 2010
SB534
&
HB713 would
have created the
Department of Insurance Transparency Act.
They would require insurance companies transacting business in the state
to provide policy and premium information to the Department of
Insurance. The bills
would require the department to provide on the department website
aggregate data of the number of homeowner’s insurance policies and the
total dollar amount of premiums collected and claims pending or paid
representing the total of every insurance company doing business in
Alabama. The bills would also require the department to post on the
department website a comprehensive description of the actuarial model
used by the department for homeowner’s risk and other related data.
Original Post
Missouri statutes
and regulations for
reporting insurance premium & loss data
This is the transparency HHII wants from
Alabama's DOI
Required Format in Reporting Data on Residential Insurance
Coverages
Premium & loss data for homeowners' insurance policies
Premium
& loss data for automobile insurance policies
Posted 11/19/2011
|