Property and casualty insurers will request rate hikes this year, after their Hurricane Katrina costs are tabulated, but advocates for insurance reform question the need for higher premiums.
"They are in a situation right now where they are just rolling in dough, so there's no excuse to price-gouge policyholders," said Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy, a nonprofit consumer group that has fought business efforts to limit jury awards in personal injury cases.
The property and casualty insurance industry has reported a 4.4 percent increase in profits for the first nine months of 2005, despite record losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Dennis and Ophelia.
The Insurance Information Institute, an industry-sponsored organization, attributes the increase over the first nine months of 2004 to several factors: higher premiums for riskier coverage, the purchase of reinsurance to offset losses, investment income, and surpluses that rose to $414.3 billion as of Sept. 30.
For a copy of the complete article, contact CJ&D.
The Center for Justice & Democracy is the only national consumer organization in the country exclusively dedicated to protecting our civil justice system. If you'd like more information, please contact us.
