N.Y. TO REVIEW AUTO RATES:

New York Superintendent of Insurance Gregory Serio, citing steep declines in insurer losses as a result of successful fraud fighting, has launched a review of auto insurance rates for private passenger vehicles in the state. Serio has called insurance companies representing more than 60 percent of the auto insurance market to appear before the department to review their rates in the face of declines in losses. “Since 2002, there has been a dramatic decline in losses across the board in auto insurance in New York. We believe that this tremendous turn of events has been due to the aggressive fraud fighting that we have relentlessly pursued at Governor Pataki’s direction over the past three years and other regulatory changes that have been implemented. It is time for the companies to reevaluate their rate structures and loss experience and return to the people of New York the anti-fraud dividend that is the yield of this hard work,” Serio stated. New York State’s overall loss ratio in the private passenger market stood at 0.86 for calendar year 2002, according to industry data. As of June 30, 2004, the overall loss ratio in New York State was 0.61. Moreover, this same report found that New York State’s average personal injury protection (PIP) losses per claim dropped to $6,229 as of June 30, 2004 from $8,489 per claim as of year-end 2002. The department plans to meet with representatives of the following companies: Allstate, CNA, GEICO, Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Metropolitan, Nationwide, New York Central Mutual, One Beacon, Progressive, State Farm, Travelers and USAA. The review will include the auto insurance written for private passenger vehicles in the voluntary market as well as those policies written in the Assigned Risk Plan, also known as the New York Automobile Insurance Plan (NYAIP). The number of New Yorkers insured through NYAIP was approaching its four-year low as of Sept. 30, 2004. NYAIP policyholders statewide received a 2 percent rate premium decrease effective August 2004.