Insurance regulators today Nationwide approval on its June rate cuts -- 8.1 percent
for mobile homes, and a previously rejected 4.5 percent decrease for homes. In the case of Nationwide's homeowners, there's an additional 6 percent cut still pending regulatory action.

Expect a large batch of such actions in the coming weeks as the
Office of Insurance Regulation clears its decks for the controversial
second-round of rate filings intended to bring the premium cuts
lawmakers banked on when they expanded Florida's hurricane catastrophe
fund. Those filings are due by October and insurers out the gate so far
are, to the most part, seeking hikes, not cuts.

State Farm is still struggling to get past round one. Regulators this
week rejected the company's seven percent cut, asking it to dig deeper.

   House minority leader Dan Gelber's call for more debate on insurance was repeated Thursday by Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller.
   
   But where Gelber has a proposal -- a special sesson on reforms to reshape the 2008 market -- Geller just wants an explanation.

   The Hallandale Beach Democrat is asking Senate President Ken Pruitt to force insurance company executives to testify, under oath, as to why they have not lowered their rates more.

   " During last January’s special session, top industry representatives specifically told us that the reasons for the soaring property insurance rates in Florida were the high cost of reinsurance," Geller writes. "We solved that problem by expanding the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (CAT Fund) to provide more inexpensive reinsurance to the industry. Additionally, rates for private reinsurance have also gone down because of our actions. Yet the windstorm rates for Floridians not only have not come down, they appear to be on the rise, along with the insurers’ profits. "

   

TALLAHASSEE -- Another rate drop -- about 10 percent -- is available
starting today for 118,000 Floridians whose homes are insured by
Citizens Property Insurance through two separate policies.

The state-run insurer as of Aug. 1 is offering a single policy to
replace the two policies --one for wind, the other for everything else
-- that Citizens used to be required to sell in high-risk areas. By
combining coverage plans, the company is able to offer a lower rate.

Not just current Citizens' policyholders can buy the cheaper policy.
Homeowners who currently buy just wind coverage from the state can also
switch over, potentially robbing business from private insurers that
were willing to insure beach houses against everything but a hurricane.

Industry records show Florida insurers in March had almost 387,000 customers without hurricane coverage, led by Nationwide (57,344) and State Farm (49,401).

Coincidentally, State Farm says it is about to drop some 50,000 coastal customers, unless they have also bought car insurance from the company.

CFO Alex Sink isn't satisfied that Floridians know the whole story
behind why home insurance rates are stuck on "high."

The Florida Legislature issued another $12 billion in consumer-backed
risk in order to lower rates. After the fact, consultants hired by
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty estimated the reductions would
average 24 percent. Instead, the cuts have hovered just above 10
percent. Sink wants to know why.

In particular, she wants to hear from McCarty's consumer-oriented
consultant, former Texas Insurance Commissioner Robert Hunter, largely
regarded by the insurance industry as Public Enemy Number One.

Read the letter here: Sink.doc

"I would also like for Mr. Hunter to revisit his initial analysis and
explain to the Governor and Cabinet why his projected rate reductions
have not materialized," Sink wrote in a July 19 letter to McCarty.

Hunter had a family committment and could not attend Tuesday's
Cabinet meeting, McCarty said.