I see the coast is still being punished by the Farm and their boy Mike Chaney. I don’t think I’ll ever insure another home with a company that employs exclusive agents and highly recommend Chip Merlin’s post that Nowdy highlighted today on getting exactly what you pay for. Anita Lee has the story for the Sun Herald:
State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. will begin writing new business again in Mississippi, spokesman David Majors said Tuesday, but not in the lower three Coast counties.
State Farm has continued to serve existing policyholders, but stopped writing new business in the state because of the fractious legal and political climate after Hurricane Katrina.
Majors said the company is ready once again to write new homeowner’s coverage in Mississippi, but not in Harrison, Hancock or Jackson counties. Majors said other measures also are being announced.
Judging from the comments left on the story our favorite captured regulator, Mike Chaney is earning brownie points with the voters down here as they figure out party line voting against their personal interests is not a good thing.
Mike Chaney has set the presidence to allow all insurance companies to cherry pick the state. This will keep insurance premiums on the coast high. Both State Farm and Mike Chaney need to be run out of the state.
sop
I know my post will not meet with much agreement on this board, but I feel this is a positive for the folks in MS. Having a viable State Farm market is a benefit to all consumers. Without the big players, the smaller players are reluctant to come in.
The pricing will always be higher the closer a risk is to the coast. It is based on potential loss and past losses. A case in point is in this rate change the city of Jackson receieves ahigher increase than the remainder of Hinds County. Why, the city of Jackson is out of control from a crime standpoint and this creates more loss potential for a carrier.
I really don’t know that much about Mr. Chaney, but he has real balancing act in MS with it being a small state with a big coastal exposure. To maintain carriers he cannot play hard ball with the carriers. It doesn’t even work in big states like FL.
Sup don’t worry about winning any popularity contests here. That is not what this blog is about.
The fact is State Farm’s record of paying claims is abysmal and that has proven true in disaster after disaster. They may find some sleepwalking fool to sign up but their trademark has been badly damaged by taking people’s money and then shafting then come claim time.
My advice is not to use companies that employ exclsuive agents, Also consumers need to check on the claims paying records, what little there is before they sign on with a carrier.
Bottom line is use an independent agent, do lots of research and hope for the best.
If Allstate and State Farm are serious about stopping the outflow of very dissatisfied policyholders they must change their ways from being well dressed scammers to purveyers of insurance again. Greed at the top will prevent that Sup.
Chaney is a short timer IMHO.
sop
The comments on the Clarion Ledger version of this story back you up Sop. I’m somewhat surprised as it indicates the problem is larger than just hurricane coverage in the three coastal counties.
People simply do not expect to fight over coverage with their insurer and clearly the do not appreciate advertising something the company isn’t selling – protection.
One note about Chaney. He maintained his support for education as a Senator but he saw called the hand of the Department of Education once he figured out how they manipulated data.
Surely, he will soon realize insurance companies are just another version of the same inaccurate representation. He may be down for the count but don’t count him out just yet.
That is because the problem is larger than Katrina claims handling.
I’ve had a post on that topic rolling around for two weeks now. The bottom line is the money insurers are making via institutionalized underpayment of claims has clouded the better judgments of the decision makers and those that support them.
Chaney may pretend to be consumer oriented in 2011 before the election. His actions as Commish tell a far different story.
Sop
Roll that post out, Sop, it sounds like a good one.
What I’ve been “rolling around” is an attempt to see the other side of these issues. I’ve found it impossible to find any perspective that justifies the way claims have been handled — an abundance of excuses but, thus far, no justification.
However, I can see how Chaney and others can be led to believe they are “consumer oriented” and not “industry oriented”.
I don’t agree but I do see and find the underlying “thinking” [sic] comparable to that of granting protection orders recognizing “deceptive business practices” as “trade secrets”.