Oct 8, 2007 4:47 pm US/Eastern
State Turns Down USAA Rate Hike Request
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TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ―
A request by USAA to raise property insurance rates more than 50 percent across Florida has been rejected by the state's Office of Insurance Regulation.
USAA is one of Florida's major insurers with about 300-thousand residential policies. All insurance companies in Florida were required to submit new rate filings with the state by October 1st as part of the insurance reform legislation passed earlier this year.
USAA becomes the first company to have its request turned down since that deadline. Now USAA can change its rate request and re-file it.
About 300 companies have submitted new rate filings with the Office of Insurance Regulation as mandated by Florida's insurance reform law.
Another company seeking an increase, instead of a state requested decrease, in rates is Allstate which has asked for a 41.9 percent rate hike. Such an increase that would take away any gains from a 14.2 percent rate cut put into effect June 1st if approved.
Allstate says they're taking advantage of the state reinsurance fund but they still need additional costly coverage from the global reinsurance marketplace to ensure it can pay claims in the event of a string of major catastrophic hurricanes.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
