Declarations

Time for changes

“When your CEOs are making $26 billion a year, we need to make some changes.”

Ginny Stevans, president of Homeowners Against Citizens, a group protesting Florida’s skyrocketing insurance costs. She was speaking at a seven hour meeting of the state’s Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee.

Thanks, Max

“Director Max Mayfield is a trusted leader and a scientist who is passionate about changing outcomes in communities threatened by tropical cyclone activity in the western hemisphere. He is truly an asset, not only to Florida, but to the international community that relies upon his expertise and guidance. On behalf of all Floridians, I thank Max for his service to our state.”

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush upon the Florida Cabinet’s passing of a resolution honoring Max Mayfield’s career in public service. Mayfield has led the National Hurricane Center since January 2000.

House folks

“Unlike the folks who run the House now, these issues will at least be discussed; we will get a vote.”

Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., in vowing that a Democratic-controlled House would look into a repeal of the insurance industry’s federal antitrust exemption and the creation of government-backed all-perils disaster insurance. Taylor, who lost his own home to Katrina, said “the biggest Katrina fraud of them all” was the insurance industry’s declaring that hurricane damage was due to flooding — a federal government responsibility — rather than wind, covered by private insurance.

Record profits

“It now appears clear that the industry’s record profits in 2004 and 2005, and the exceptional record profit about to be reported for 2006, are due in large part to the years of huge rate hikes in the earlier part of the decade, which were not caused by any accompanying increase in claims or payouts. In fact, inflation-adjusted payouts and claims never increased at all during this period. Rather, this is all part of a well-documented cyclical phenomenon for the property/casualty insurance industry.”

J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, reacting to a report indicating that skyrocketing insurance rates of 2000 to 2003 have led to record industry profits but commercial insurance rates have stabilized or dropped in almost every sector, including medical malpractice.