You can say shame on us all you want, but I’ll take the crumbs of a private insurer over the slap in the face that I get from Citizens when I have to write a policy with them. At least MGA’s haven’t resorted to paying us peanuts and telling us to love it…not to mention pay $125 yearly for membership to a club I don’t want to belong to.
Only the agents of Florida and a few others realize how much trouble we are in! If this keeps up we will have nothing but Excess and Surplus companies. At least they are charging actuarially sound rates and have money. Kevin and / or Charlie will not be able to do a thing. At that point you will really hear the “Floridians” whine as they will be paying three to four times what they are paying now.
Keeping the rates “artificially low” has been politically expedient. Remember when Hanover, Hartford and many other carriers were thrown out of the state because they wanted to charge actuarially sound rates? If there are storms this year and defecation hits the cross blade Floridians will be financially ruined – it is on the head of “Charlie”. He lied to us since he coveted the governor’s chair.
You are all missing the point. Follow the money. The carriers are not getting any of the premiums your clients are sending them. They are siphoning all the cash out of them to a fictitious company who’s sole reason for being is to pay the owners a huge salary until the wind blows then the carrier folds and the MGA pays off all owners what ever else is left and leaves town, only to give the carrier to FIGA to pay all claims.
My instinctive mistrust of the government makes me wonder if there is something we’re not being told. Like why is it that overhead is 50% higher in Florida? Could there be some regulatory hoops MGAs have to jump through that drive that cost up? If some MGAs make 20% commission and pay independent producers between 10% and 15%, plus other MGA expenses, are they really making outrageous profits? Is this new transparency regulation going to drive down commissions for producing agents? I’d like to know the answers to these questions.
It’s funny the OIR acts as if it a big surprise! They approve ALL the MGA contracts with the insurers. They are “material” transactions which by law have to be reported the OIR. There is not one that is not approved. They(the OIR) know exactly what they(the insurers) are doing. They approved Southern Oak’s.
Homeowners Choice they did not. And it was only a $10,000 fine????? Violate state statutes for $10K. Sounds like a good deal to me.
The MGA’s aren’t the biggest problem in many cases. You’re looking at back room reinsurance deals that buy $10 million in coverage for $10 million in premium. In some cases there are no agents to pay and the MGA gets 30%…not naming names of companies…
Additionally, the agencies aren’t getting anywhere near 15% from these MGA’s, at least not from the small start-up take out companies.
There’s a uniform insurance holding company act on the books in many states for a long time that regulates transactions between affiliates.
Plus, rate filings have to identify the expense factors, and the quarterly financial statements contain significant detail about insurance company expenses.
So, why is this such a huge surprise? Does Florida have the insurance holding company statute, and if not, since it’s been around for so long, why not?
The MGA’s are owned by the carriers. Hmmmmm. The MGA’s can charge whatever they want. Hmmmmmmm. DUH!
Charlie knew exactly what was going on and was getting campaign contributions from each of these companies. I remember when he pulled DOI McCarty’s butt from the fire when he had a party for his wifes campaign and invited all of the CEO’s of these startup carriers to this event. Can you say conflict of interest?
Well Charlie and McCarty both have a long history of wining and dining these companies and looking the other way when an affiliate (MGA) is overcharging the carrier.
ITS TIME TO START DOING YOUR JOB AND REGULATE THE FINANCIAL CONDITION AND PULLING THE PLUG ON 95% OF THESE STARTUPS BEFORE THE WIND BLOWS.
If you closed all of the small Ins in Florida, who would write all the risks? All the large carriers that love Forida like State Farm or Allstate. I’m thinking not. It would all go to Citizens.Genuis plan…lol. Just wait for a CAT 5 to hit Miami Dade and see how Citizens fairs with the risks they have now. 180 billion in losses VS the 10 billion they have in surplus. Thats the real Ponzi!
They pay their MGA’s Big fees and leave the crumbs to the agents that are actually out their pushing their product.
Shame on you and SHAME ON US.
You can say shame on us all you want, but I’ll take the crumbs of a private insurer over the slap in the face that I get from Citizens when I have to write a policy with them. At least MGA’s haven’t resorted to paying us peanuts and telling us to love it…not to mention pay $125 yearly for membership to a club I don’t want to belong to.
Only the agents of Florida and a few others realize how much trouble we are in! If this keeps up we will have nothing but Excess and Surplus companies. At least they are charging actuarially sound rates and have money. Kevin and / or Charlie will not be able to do a thing. At that point you will really hear the “Floridians” whine as they will be paying three to four times what they are paying now.
Keeping the rates “artificially low” has been politically expedient. Remember when Hanover, Hartford and many other carriers were thrown out of the state because they wanted to charge actuarially sound rates? If there are storms this year and defecation hits the cross blade Floridians will be financially ruined – it is on the head of “Charlie”. He lied to us since he coveted the governor’s chair.
Why does Charlie want to investigate companies for doing exactly what Charlie allowed them, or better yet, encouraged them to do?
You are all missing the point. Follow the money. The carriers are not getting any of the premiums your clients are sending them. They are siphoning all the cash out of them to a fictitious company who’s sole reason for being is to pay the owners a huge salary until the wind blows then the carrier folds and the MGA pays off all owners what ever else is left and leaves town, only to give the carrier to FIGA to pay all claims.
Told you so!
And the really cool thing is, none of that is illegal. Thanks Charlie.
My instinctive mistrust of the government makes me wonder if there is something we’re not being told. Like why is it that overhead is 50% higher in Florida? Could there be some regulatory hoops MGAs have to jump through that drive that cost up? If some MGAs make 20% commission and pay independent producers between 10% and 15%, plus other MGA expenses, are they really making outrageous profits? Is this new transparency regulation going to drive down commissions for producing agents? I’d like to know the answers to these questions.
It’s funny the OIR acts as if it a big surprise! They approve ALL the MGA contracts with the insurers. They are “material” transactions which by law have to be reported the OIR. There is not one that is not approved. They(the OIR) know exactly what they(the insurers) are doing. They approved Southern Oak’s.
Homeowners Choice they did not. And it was only a $10,000 fine????? Violate state statutes for $10K. Sounds like a good deal to me.
The MGA’s aren’t the biggest problem in many cases. You’re looking at back room reinsurance deals that buy $10 million in coverage for $10 million in premium. In some cases there are no agents to pay and the MGA gets 30%…not naming names of companies…
Additionally, the agencies aren’t getting anywhere near 15% from these MGA’s, at least not from the small start-up take out companies.
There’s a uniform insurance holding company act on the books in many states for a long time that regulates transactions between affiliates.
Plus, rate filings have to identify the expense factors, and the quarterly financial statements contain significant detail about insurance company expenses.
So, why is this such a huge surprise? Does Florida have the insurance holding company statute, and if not, since it’s been around for so long, why not?
The MGA’s are owned by the carriers. Hmmmmm. The MGA’s can charge whatever they want. Hmmmmmmm. DUH!
Charlie knew exactly what was going on and was getting campaign contributions from each of these companies. I remember when he pulled DOI McCarty’s butt from the fire when he had a party for his wifes campaign and invited all of the CEO’s of these startup carriers to this event. Can you say conflict of interest?
Well Charlie and McCarty both have a long history of wining and dining these companies and looking the other way when an affiliate (MGA) is overcharging the carrier.
ITS TIME TO START DOING YOUR JOB AND REGULATE THE FINANCIAL CONDITION AND PULLING THE PLUG ON 95% OF THESE STARTUPS BEFORE THE WIND BLOWS.
If you closed all of the small Ins in Florida, who would write all the risks? All the large carriers that love Forida like State Farm or Allstate. I’m thinking not. It would all go to Citizens.Genuis plan…lol. Just wait for a CAT 5 to hit Miami Dade and see how Citizens fairs with the risks they have now. 180 billion in losses VS the 10 billion they have in surplus. Thats the real Ponzi!