PIA Legislative Day Topics: Medicaid Reform, Term Limits, Ethics, Citizens

Medicaid reform, changing term limits and ethics will be three major issues of concern to the Florida Legislature during upcoming meetings and through 2006, Ron Villella, Professional Insurance Agents of Florida lobbyist said in introductory remarks in Tallahassee during PIAF’s Legislative Day.

Freshman Rep. Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) said the silver lining to last year’s hurricanes was proof that without adequate compensation for agents, there will be trouble when claims need to be settled.

Sen. Jim Kane (R-Jacksonville) and Rep. Frank Farkas (R-Pinellas), also guest speakers, said it’s urgent that independent agents contact their local legislators and tell them the insurance industry’s side of the story.

Kane commented that it’s important for independent agents to voice their opinion about their needs, but they must be realistic. He said this could mean giving up some provision that might be good for your business to benefit the overall industry.

“If you don’t want to be legislated out of business, you must find common ground,” Kane said. “You have to decide how to bury your hatchets and unify your force.”

Kane said consumers now think of insurance companies not as a protector, but as an adversary.

“The insurance industry can’t just say, ‘Woe is me,'” Kane said. “You have to fight to build more PEOs and illustrate that there is a need for independent agents.”

Kane advised independent agents, in their role as independent businessmen, to take an active role in local politics. He said one way, but not the only way to do this was to donate to local legislators they support.

“Money will give you access to your local legislators,” he said. “But other means of support include working in the office and waving signs on street corners to support a candidate.”

Those types of supporters are remembered, he said. Kane suggested everyone should call their legislator and ask for 10 minutes to give the insurance industry’s side of the story. Kane said he gives a lot more weight to a 10 minute call from a constituent than a call from a lobbyist and accepts their calls ahead of lobbyists. He cautioned agents to remember that legislators receive an enormous number of calls each day, so make sure to keep your discussion on target.

“Either you do something, or someone will do something to you,” Rep. Farkas cautioned. He advised independent agents to be active in local government and to meet with their legislators on their home turf.

Farkas said the way to get industry-friendly legislation passed is to be friendly.

“You have to develop good relationships with your legislators, build bridges and make friends,” he advised.

Several legislators voiced dismay at what they thought was a low turnout for the event. Less than 100 PIAF members attended the meetings and the legislators suggested that the industry should drum up new members, get more independent agents to join the organization and project a more positive and cohesive image to their legislators.

Independent agents come through
Cannon said last year’s hurricanes taught everyone a valuable lesson, that independent agents do a much better job of representing customers in times of disaster and provide more valuable assistance than companies that offer bargain rates and slow service.

Cannon described his experience with Hurricanes Charlie and Frances. Charlie hit Cannon’s home near Orlando on Aug. 13 and Frances later finished it off. He said his insurance company and contractor still have not agreed to repair the damage.

Cannon said he will closely watch insurance-related legislation both on a personal basis and for quality of life during the meetings of the Florida Legislature.

Citizens in trouble
All four legislators addressing PIAF acknowledged that Citizens Property Insurance Co., the state-sponsored insurer of last resort, was in trouble.

Cannon encouraged questions from the audience and ended up hearing numerous complaints.

Audience members suggested Citizens business should be turned over to independent agents. They said Citizens has never served the consumer because it and its predecessor were established as temporary measures to provide insurance until there was an alternative.

South Florida agents said while independent agents provided excellent service during the hurricanes, at times even ignoring the needs of their own families, Citizens was, and continues to be very slow.

A South Florida agent complained that in many areas Citizens is the only available insurer, yet even in the best of times 80 percent of callers are put on hold for hours. He said it costs three times as much to service a Citizens policy as to work with other companies. He said most of his carriers can carry out a procedure online, while the same procedure requires hours on the phone with Citizens.

He said Citizens bureaucracy has a ridiculous system and paperwork and no intent to service the customer. He described a simple procedure, like changing a policy from one mortgage company to another, that takes a few minutes with most carriers, but several days and a mountain of paperwork with Citizens.

In parting, Cannon suggested it would be a good idea if the insurance industry pushed to have a representative on the Citizens board and suggested that PIAF should attempt to do so. He said not having an insurance industry representative on the Citizens board seemed very inappropriate since everything Citizens did impacted the industry.

Topics Florida Legislation Agencies Hurricane Market