Are You in Good Hands?
Texas Allstate customers will get a total of $71 million in refunds after the insurance company settled with the Texas Department of Insurance , over the insurance company's excessive premiums*. Here's how it will affect you, if you are in "good hands":
Allstate will refund almost $37 million for new and renewal policies written between Dec. 1, 2004-April 23, 2006, a period when the state said its rates were too high.Texas Watch head Alex Winslow isn't happy about the outcome because Allstate made no "meaningful" rate reductions. He is calling for lawmakers to step in.Allstate also will reduce homeowners rates by 3 percent statewide for new and renewal policies written for one year beginning June 2. And it will credit or refund policy holders 3 percent between Aug. 20, 2007 and June 1.
The Texas Department of Insurance estimates as many as 700,000 policy holders will be affected by the settlement. Allstate is Texas' second-largest writer of homeowner policies and covers nearly 15 percent of the market.
"Today's settlement with Allstate smacks of a political ploy by TDI to defuse legislative and public frustration over the agency's failure to fulfill the promise of meaningful rate relief for Texas homeowners. TDI is set to undergo serious legislative scrutiny starting next month and lawmakers should take heed of the fact another $20 million of their constituents' money is going into the insurance industry's pockets," he said in a statement.
"The insurance commissioner should quit playing politics with Texas homeowners' hard-earned money. Texans are sick and tired of half-baked settlements that allow insurance companies to pad their bottom lines without meaningful rate reductions.
*But that dude from 24 who does the commercials is convincing
One must take all that Mr. Winslow disseminates for public consumption with more than a few grains of salt.
http://sophisticmiltonianserbonianblog.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/texas-watch-wants-it-both-ways/