Consumer advocate J. Robert Hunter has been tapped by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to set property insurance rate reductions as mandated by recently passed reform legislation.

Mr. Hunter, who now serves as insurance director of the Consumer Federation of America, has begun work in Tallahassee to determine how much rates should be cut by all Florida residential property insurers to reflect lower reinsurance costs under the reform program.

The former Texas insurance commissioner said in a statement that he wanted to make sure consumers get the full benefit from the reforms, "while also ensuring insurers retain rates that accurately reflect the risk they are bearing."

Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty described the body of Mr. Hunter's work as "legendary. He is truly one of the great minds on issues surrounding the insurance industry, and I am grateful we were able to attract him to Florida to take on this very important project."

Sam Miller, executive director of the Florida Insurance Council, said the industry had no input into the selection and that the Office of Insurance Regulation was authorized to make the selection.

Other industry sources were reluctant to comment about the appointment, trying to avoid antagonizing the person placed in charge of how they can price their coverage.

However, a number of top association officials grumbled in the background about the choice, noting that insurers have clashed often with Mr. Hunter--including a recent CFA report accusing carriers of "systematically overcharging for insurance and shifting costs to consumers and taxpayers."

Mr. Hunter will help Florida regulators calculate what is called a "presumed factor" by March 15.

A reform law passed by the Florida Legislature during a special session in January provided enhancements to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to offset some of the increases in global reinsurance costs following the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons. The presumed factor will represent the savings that will be generated by these statutory changes.

Once the office publishes the presumed factor, each residential property insurer is required to file a rate change reflecting that figure for insurance policies written or renewed on or after June 1, 2007.

Insurers cannot nonrenew or cancel residential property insurance policies until they make these required filings.

However, the Florida Insurance Council filed motions both with the State Division of Administrative Hearings and the First District Court of Appeals aimed at getting relief from new state laws retroactively prohibiting nonrenewal of policies and new rate increases.

FIC President Guy Marvin said the group's aim was to stop implementation of the rule, pending a state administrative review of its validity.

"We firmly believe that this rule is invalid," he said, while in another affidavit filed in connection with the challenge he said the rule "disrupts insurer operations and creates unnecessary havoc and confusion for insurers and policyholders."

Mr. Marvin also said insurance carriers have been seeking to reduce their hurricane exposure for more than a year in efforts "often undertaken with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's knowledge and approval."

He went on to say that most lines of insurance for which insurers have nonrenewals planned are priced inadequately.

"If an insurer is required to stay on a book of business longer than expected, it is likely to have higher underwriting losses for the company, negative cash flow and decline in capital," he said.

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'Legendary' Hunter To Oversee Fla. Rates

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