[StBernard] #11

[Westley Annis]

Wendy,

I said months ago that Louisiana should pass a simple law that states if an
insurance company wants to come to Louisiana to do business (or if it's
already here) it must make available every type of insurance the company has
to offer, based on what they sell/offer in any of the other 49 states.  So,
only if they auto in Florida (not life, homeowners) but they sell life and
homeowners in Arizona, then they must sell auto, life and homeowners here in
Louisiana.  Also, no more regionalizing the state.  In other words, you must
sell what you have to offer in ALL of Louisiana.  This would prevent
companies like State Farm from doing what they did a few years ago when they
told their agents they could no longer write homeowner policies in southeast
Louisiana but could continue to do it for north Louisiana.

Any violation of this proposed law and the company immediately has their
license revoked to business in the state.  Also, some teeth has to be
included in such legislation where the insurance company has no right to
file in court to appeal the decision by the Commissioner of Insurance
office.  The COI must be given full arbitration powers to decide whether or
not an insurance company is violation of the proposed law.

When I first mentioned this idea months ago I said something about my
conversation with my State Farm agent about my idea.  His reaction was "if
Louisiana ever passes such a law then we (the insurance carriers) will all
pack up and go home (leave the state)."  My reply to him was "who the hell
are you trying to bullshi!!!"  I told him he must think I'm some kind of
idiot if he thought I believed insurance companies (like State Farm,
Allstate) were going to give up making millions of dollars in this state
just because they may have to provide additional types of coverage or be
prevented from removing some.  I told him people in this state aren't that
stupid to believe non-sense like that.  This "pick and choose" what we want
to sell attitude of insurance carriers has to come to an end

I don't understand why the legislature doesn't have the guts to introduce
such legislation.  Believe me, if I ever get in the legislature, I will
author such a bill.

John Scurich


----- Original Message -----

> If an insurance company wants the priviledge to sell any policies 

> within

an

> area, it must offer all. How can we allow insurance companies to sell

life,

> auto, disability, workman's comp, etc. yet they will not offer us 

> decent homeowner's. Their reasoning, it hits their bottom line, so 

> will the fact that they can't sell their "profiting" insurances if 

> they won't cover everything. AND, to make things better for them and 

> for us, flood should

be

> incorperated into every policy, even if it's with the National Flood Plan.

> As I am sure most people reading this, they wouldn't have missed that 

> $250 per year a have that $100,000 on their house today (or whatever 

> the value

of

> the house was).

>

> Wendy Hall