News Room

Senior Insurance Regulatory Shareholder Tim Meenan appeared on a panel before the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund annual “Participating Insurers Workshop” in Orlando on May 24, 2011.  Meenan served with Cecil Pearce, President of the Florida Insurance Council, and Jeff Grady, CEO of the Florida Association of Independent Insurance Agents, to discuss trends in the Florida homeowners marketplace.

Tim discussed several major factors stunting growth in the Florida marketplace including artificially low rates at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, continuing sinkhole loss development, changes in hurricane risk modeling that will force homeowners rates even higher, and new provisions in the Dodd Frank Wallstreet Reform act which restrict non-domicile state review of reinsurance treaties.  Meenan also called for the CAT Fund to work more like private reinsurance, by guaranteeing the amount of coverage purchased, rather than simply the amount the CAT Fund is able to Bond after a catastrophe.  “Without the full guarantee of the CAT Fund, rating agencies and others know that insurers that rely on the CAT Fund to pay claims may have credit issues due to the State of Florida’s inability to potentially pay under the CAT Fund contracts,” said Meenan.  Finally, as Counsel to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”), Meenan gave a brief update to the participants on the 17 insurers that were rendered insolvent since 2004, and the payment by FIGA of almost $1.7 billion in policyholder claims for these insurers.