To justify AIG’s bailout, ins
INSURANCE INFORMATION AND NEWS
Following are key insurance articles and general insurance information of interest.
To justify AIG bailout, Insurance Regulators overlooked big problems 6/9/10
Major Insurers see change to get Big Rate Increases along th Gulf 6/6/10
State Farm wants Major rate increase in Louisiana insurance rates! 4/22/10
State Farm Stiffs Texas regulators on Property Insurance 4/13/10
Stay away from Louisian is you want cheaper auto insurance rates! 5/5/10
Louisiana Auto rates keep going up. Why? 4/15/10
What if A.I.G. fails in Louisiana? 5/11/10
Louisiana most expensive for auto insurance 4/13/10
National Cost Ratings have Louisiana highest in car insurance 4/12/09
New York Times on Louisiana’s Most Expensive Insurance Rates 6/11/10
Fewer Elected Commissioners-More Becoming Appointed 3/8/10
Ex Citizens Head heading for trial for misappropriating funds 2/18/10
Louisiana Comp Costs Per Claim 35% Higher than Most States 1/29/10
La. Citizens Insurance Co.violated laws in 2008 1/26/10
Auditor Questions security of La. Citizens Insurance. 1/25/10
10 Insurance Questions for Jim Brown (Business Report) 1/15/10
Louisiana continues to have highest property rates in U.S 1/15/10
Property Owners win one in Florida 12/21/09
Commission says Abolish Citizens Property Insurance Co. 12/09/09
Cost Panel says Abolish Citizens Insurance Co. 12/09/09
Insurance Journal.com’s Newsfeed (All the latest national insurance news Click here.)
La. most expensive for auto inssurance in the U.S. 12/03/09
La. least affordable auto insurance in the U.S. 12/3/09
La. Citizens Insurance Facing More Problems 12/2/09
La. Insuance Reform shouild be front burner issue 12/02/09
La. Insurance Companies cancelling policies over drywall coverage. 11/8/09
La. Insurance Dept. blasted-Giving Insurers money before contracts signed 10/14/09
Citizens Board will raise rates by 10% in Louisiana 9/11/09
Judge won’t move Citizens CEO Lisotta Trial-Set for March 22, 2010 9/9/09
La. Insurance Department owes $692,000 in legal dispute 8/23/09
La. Citizens Insurance May prove costly to Taxpayers 8/18/09
Puzzling Regulatory Oversite of A.I.G. in Louisiana 8/15/09
Major Insurance Problems in Louisiana 8/14/09
A.I.G. Insurance Scandels Simply Explained 8/13/09
La. Citizens asks for Major Rate Increase 8/13/09
Major Push for Federal Regulation of Insurance 8/3/09
Judge Orders La. Commissioner to hand over documents 7/31/09
Not Another Rate Hike for Citizens Insurance 7/12/09
Louisiana Hurricane Season-Do You Feel Lucky? 6/29/09
Health Insurance Company Schemes 6/29/09
Politics puts Insurance Regulators in a Bind 6/12/09
La. Hurricane Season-Do You Feel Lucky-Do ya? 6/11/09
Congress should Pass Natiional Catastrophe Bill 6/11/09
La. Homeowners Face Major Insurance Increases 4/23/09
- La. Insurance Dept. continues to hide data. 4/02/09
- Texas considers reinsurance fund 3/5/09
- Texas -Louisiana differ on Catastrophic funding 2/4/09
- Arkansas moves to let Gov. appoint Insurance Commissioner 2/06/09
- State’s Bond Rating in jeopardy by La. Insurance Comm. actions 1/24/09
- La. Dept. of Insurance still under the Gun 2/6/09
- La. Insurance Comm. refused to turn over state records 1/24/09
- All Funds to La. Insurance department may be shut down 1/27/09
- Socialism and Insurance-Louisiana Style 1/09/09
- Citizens Insurance Rates to rise 7 per cent 1/09/09
- Citizens Insurance Audit shows major defects 12/30/08
- Fed. Court-Insurer added to Anguish in La. 12/24/08
- Citizens Shortchanges policyholders 12/17/08
- Citizens Insurance Scandal Growing? 12/11/08
- Citizens Lawsuit Attorneys Feuding 12/10/08
- New Questions about former CEO of Citizens Insurance 12/08/08
- Ex Chief of Citizens Insurance is fall guy, lawyer says 12/07/08
- La. Insurance Deductables in Major Dispute 12/07/08
- Was Citizens Chief Spending or Stealing? (Editorial) 12/5/09
- Former Citizens Insurance Head indicted on Theft Charges 12/04/08
- State Auditors Demanding records from La. Insurance Department 11/18/08
- Insurance Dept. blasted over Citizens Audit 11/18/08
- Goodwill wasted by head of Citizens Insurance 11/14/08
- Citizens Insuance Hit with big penalties 11/14/09
- Head of Citizens Insurance living high on public funds 11/11/08
- Audit Rips Spending by Citizens Insurance 11/11/08
- New Citizens Insurance Audit shows Major Irregularities Nov. 11, 2008
- Insurers Ask to be included in Bailout Oct. 25, 2008
- CitizensProperty Insurance Co. stuck with $35 million settlement 10/16/08
- AIG Rip Offs Hit Louisiana Taxpayers 10/24/09
- Treasury Considers Stakes in Insurance Industry 10/24/08
- Insurance Industry on the hot seat 10/10/08
- Senate Insurance Committee says NO to Citizens Ins. rate increases 10/10/08
- AIG gets$37.8 billion from Feds-Who’s examining them? 10/8/08
- AIG fiddles while Wall Street Burns 10/8/08
- AIG crisis could could Big Problems for Louisiana 9/18/08
- La. Hurricane deductibles an Outrage 9/15/08
- La. Policyholders Have to pay more-Who’s Looking out for Them? 9/13/08
- La. Insurance Officials Hope not to screw up again with Gustav 8/29/08
- Is Insurance Industry Better Prepared for Hurricane Gustav? 8/27/08
- Insurance Co.s in Louisiana use Federal cash to pay claims 8/27/08
- Auto Insurance Rates Rising Nationwide 8/22/08
- Citizens Insurance Worst Louisiana state agency 8/21/08
- State charges Citizens Insurance with being Delinquent 8/14/08
- Citizens Insurance Co. in La. can’t get Board to Even Meet 8/06/08
- Citizens Lawsuit in La. certified as a Class Action 8/8/08
- Louisiana Insurance Rates Going Up across the Board 7/26/08
- Louisiana Auto Rates Highest in the Country 717/08
- Insurers Must Promptly Pay under California law. 7/15/08
- California Moves towards pay as you drive Auto Insurance 7/15/08
- Allstate ordered by California to slash homeowner and auto rates 7/10/08
- Lower Auto Insurance Rates in California 6/15/08
- Home Insurance woes mount in coastal states 6/12/08
- McCain, GOP Govs split over Disaster fund 6/12/08
- La. Insurance Comm. continues a cover up on records 5/29/08
- Should Feds Offer Reinsurance to Coastal States? 5/31/08
- Insurers fail to Keep Word to Insureds in Louisiana 5/14/08
- Property Insurance Rates Under Scrutiny in California- 5/27/08
- Higher Auto Insurance Rates in Louisiana
- In Louisiana, Property Insurance hard to find and afford
- Florida considers Deregulation in Health Care Insurance
- Louisiana Most Expensive for Auto Insurance in the Country
- Florida way ahead of Louisiana on Insurance Reform
- Louisiana’s Worst Financial Disaster? Citizens Insurance.
- Ex Insurance Chief Wooley Faces Ethics Charges
- Florida passes new laws to reduce homeowners insurance
- Louisiana Insurance Watchdog Handcuffed
- South Floridans turn to Alternative types of Insurance not allowed in La.
- Lawsuit Accuses La. Citizens Insurance Executives of Racketeering
- Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Accused of Price Fixing by State Auditor
- Florida’s Insurance Crisis-Complete Coverage
- Major Lawsuit against La. Citizens Insurance Co.-Racketeering Involved.
- Citizens Property Insurance Co. sloppiest in La. state government 5/21/07
- Unnatural Disaster in La.-Citizens Property Insurance Co.
- Why Are La. Auto Rates so High?
- Help For Those With Louisiana Insurance Problems
- CONSUMER REPORTS WARNS DRIVERS ABOUT THE SECRET SCORE BEHIND AUTO INSURANCE RATES
INSURANCE ISSUES
Having served as Commissioner of Insurance for Louisiana for 12 years, it seems that someone stops me everyday to make an inquiry about their personal insurance or the general state of the insurance industry in Louisiana, throughout the nation, and internationally as well. It’s a little amusing that some eight or 10 people a week stop to tell me what a good job I am still doing as Insurance Commissioner. To be frank, I’m troubled over the status of the insurance industry in this country, as well as throughout the world. Few average citizens realize what effect international financial activities have on the cost of basic automobile or homeowner’s insurance policies, right here in Louisiana, or any other state. With hurricane problems, inflation, the continuing high cost of doing business, and the patchwork of regulatory procedures in the U.S., there does not seem to be any end in sight to rising insurance rates.
From time to time, I plan on posting in this section articles and comments of specific interest to the general public on the future of the insurance industry, and give my suggestions as to what we can do on a state by state level to reduce the overall costs of various types of insurance that each of our family needs.
One of the problems the average consumer faces is the difficulty in making a complaint against their insurance company if they have a particular problem, or a legitimate claim is denied. I want to call your attention to a new service by an organization called Insurancegripe.com. The good thing about this site is that it clearly and specifically walks consumers through the process of collecting the proper information and sending the appropriate letters to the state where the complainant lives. Some states do a good job in handling complaints but many states have a slow process and often concerns slip through the cracks. It should not be that difficult for any individual to make a complaint, and receive the cooperation of their respective Department of Insurance.
For complete information, you can go directly to this site at http://www.insurancegripe.com. The service is provided free of charge. So take advantage of this link if you have a specific complaint.
Find out if new articles and information is posted under this section. Keep an eye on the JimBrownla.com homepage blog. Notices will be posted on this blog to let you know that new articles of interest are available.
In the months to come you can read here about the problems with deregulation, concerns about how major reinsurers halfway around the world directly affect the cost of insurance in the U.S., and what we ought to be doing to lower insurance rates. Stay tuned.