The Orlando Sentinel weighs in on the upcoming battle that will surely pit the big business auto insurers against your local doctor and, if you drive a car, against you.
Pointing out that if you "Remove the PIP requirement, motorists will pay substantially more for their health insurance, which increasingly would cover auto injuries. More deadbeats also will drive without insurance, forcing others to pay for their care after accidents".
The Orlando Sentinel is calling for repairs of the PIP system, not replacing the system with something else. "Where it looks like you'll save on auto insurance, you'll end up paying more for health insurance", points out the newspaper.
The auto insurers also would love to replace a diminished personal injury protection (PIP) system with one mandating more expensive — and more profitable — bodily-injury protection. Let's remember, this is big business and it's all about big profits. Under the current system, last year (2010) State Farm's profits surpassed the billion dollar mark, up from $900 million in 2009.
So, with profits so high why all the complaints? Well, quite frankly it's a chance to change the rules of the game to favor big insurance even greater than they do now.
The Orlando Sentinel has it right, don't scrap the current PIP program, rather have our legislators roll up their sleeves and fix what's broken in the current system. And, quite frankly it's not much. No matter what business, industry or profession, you will find a few bad apples. But to throw out an entire basket of good apples because there are a few bad ones seems like a waste of a lot of good apples. It's time for our legislature to pick out the bad apples and find out how they got there, then fix that part of the system.
If you had one bad employee would you close your business? or would you retrain or even re-hire a new one?
For more on the Orlando Sentenal's sentiments, click here for their entire article.
FPIB
Showing posts with label Allstate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allstate. Show all posts
Monday, August 8, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Proposed Florida Legislation Calls For "Fraud Tax"???
Here in Florida, a House subcommittee this morning approved a controversial bill that would limit fees for attorneys who sue insurance companies in disputes about so-called PIP claims...and here we go again.
Insurance companies cry foul when it comes to fraud because they say they are losing so much money due to fraudulent claims. This year not only were they promoting their agenda regarding PIP fraud and staged accidents, but suddenly sink holes too.
Please realize that an insurance company is a business like any other. So they try to wield their political influence in such a manor as to gain any business advantage in their market. Remember, they are in business to make a profit. And, there's nothing wrong with that. But when you run a company like State Farm and constantly tell people you're losing money to fraud when in 2009 you made a paltry $800,000,000.00 profit (yes, that's 800 million) and then in 2010 you increase your profits to $1,800,000,000.00 profit (that's 1.8 Billion in profit)...yet you continue to cry to your legislatures that fraud is continuing to harm your business, who do you think you're fooling?
No doubt that fraud should be stopped for no other reason than it's fraud and it's wrong. But if the stated statistics are true, then it seem that with the increase in fraud comes an increase in insurance company profits. I'm not sure how that works, but it seems to be the case.
But with all of the efforts that have taken place, one of the biggest reasons for a change in legislation is because fraud costs the consumers just way too much money...AND it's taking money out of the consumer's pockets. Yet, with all the legislation, with all the hoopla, with all the incredible profits posted by these insurance companies, I have yet to see one of them lower their premiums. None!
When do the consumers get to save money? How much does someone like State Farm or the others have to profit by to get them to stop raising rates? Maybe $1.9 Billion and we get a discount? Excuse me but I won't hold my breath.
The real fraud is that this is a game to the insurance companies. They cry fraud, they get their PR companies to get article after article in the newspapers and stories on TV all to justify their raising your rates... Good luck to them, let's see if you can make a $2-Billion Dollar profit in 2011.
Seems like in a down economy, being an insurance company would have been the best bet. People pay you for insurance and you get to deny their claims until an attorney calls you on it. Now, they want to limit an attorney's ability to protect the rights of citizens. Assuring their ability to increase their profits and rake you over the coals on their way to the bank to deposit their profits.
http://www.healthnewsflorida.org/top_story/read/state_officials_target_fraud_tax
Insurance companies cry foul when it comes to fraud because they say they are losing so much money due to fraudulent claims. This year not only were they promoting their agenda regarding PIP fraud and staged accidents, but suddenly sink holes too.
Please realize that an insurance company is a business like any other. So they try to wield their political influence in such a manor as to gain any business advantage in their market. Remember, they are in business to make a profit. And, there's nothing wrong with that. But when you run a company like State Farm and constantly tell people you're losing money to fraud when in 2009 you made a paltry $800,000,000.00 profit (yes, that's 800 million) and then in 2010 you increase your profits to $1,800,000,000.00 profit (that's 1.8 Billion in profit)...yet you continue to cry to your legislatures that fraud is continuing to harm your business, who do you think you're fooling?
No doubt that fraud should be stopped for no other reason than it's fraud and it's wrong. But if the stated statistics are true, then it seem that with the increase in fraud comes an increase in insurance company profits. I'm not sure how that works, but it seems to be the case.
But with all of the efforts that have taken place, one of the biggest reasons for a change in legislation is because fraud costs the consumers just way too much money...AND it's taking money out of the consumer's pockets. Yet, with all the legislation, with all the hoopla, with all the incredible profits posted by these insurance companies, I have yet to see one of them lower their premiums. None!
When do the consumers get to save money? How much does someone like State Farm or the others have to profit by to get them to stop raising rates? Maybe $1.9 Billion and we get a discount? Excuse me but I won't hold my breath.
The real fraud is that this is a game to the insurance companies. They cry fraud, they get their PR companies to get article after article in the newspapers and stories on TV all to justify their raising your rates... Good luck to them, let's see if you can make a $2-Billion Dollar profit in 2011.
Seems like in a down economy, being an insurance company would have been the best bet. People pay you for insurance and you get to deny their claims until an attorney calls you on it. Now, they want to limit an attorney's ability to protect the rights of citizens. Assuring their ability to increase their profits and rake you over the coals on their way to the bank to deposit their profits.
http://www.healthnewsflorida.org/top_story/read/state_officials_target_fraud_tax
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