"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:30:56 +0000, NOYB wrote:


I'd like to see the insurance industry regulated the way that public
utilities like power companies are regulated.

As in many states, Florida does regulate insurance companies.

But the Feds have no regulatory control. They're exempt from the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act!




"Insurance companies are private businesses that must make a profit to
survive and fulfill their ability to pay claims filed by insureds. It is a
highly regulated, carefully controlled profit, however. Rates for nearly
all lines of insurance must be approved by the Office of Insurance
Regulation. The maximum allowable rate of return is generally 5 percent,
with 2 to 3 percent returns more typical on an actual basis. Excess profit
laws exist in several lines of insurance requiring automatic rate
rollbacks when the maximum approved profit level is exceeded. They have
been rarely activated."



That's precisely the problem. Companies just decide that they're not going
to do business in the states that create tougher regulations...which leaves
the government impotent in helping the people.

Now if there were uniform Federal standards instead of individual state
standards, the companies couldn't cherry-pick which states that they want to
do business in.


That's the idea behind Association Health Plans (a.k.a. Small Business
Health Fairness Act).