AUTO INSURANCE REPORT the Authority on Insuring Personal and Commercial Vehicles

Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher AUTO INSURANCE REPORT The Authority on Insuring Personal and Commercial Vehicles

Vol. 28#32/1329 May 10, 2021 Revised Louisiana’s Donelon: An Insider Who INSIDE Has Stayed Outside the Big Sleazy Donelon is willing to live with criticism Holding court in a coffee shop less than a mile from in return for a job with impact. Page 2 the home his father-in-law built 46 years ago, just outside New Orleans on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Top deputies set to retire. Page 4 Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is abso- Consumer activists believe Donelon does lutely beaming as he reminisces about misfits, mischief and the insurance industry’s bidding. Page 5 missed opportunities during a lifetime in this state’s notori- ous political circus. Ending the Rating Commission. Page 7 Friends and neighbors pop over to his table to say hello in between stories about growing up in half a double shot- Table: Insurance industry advertisers ranked 21-50. Page 9 gun house on Baudin Street in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans; the good fortune of meeting Merilynn Boudreaux, his wife of 53 years, during the second go- Smaller Advertisers Pulled round of a college literature class he failed the first time for Back During Pandemic having never attended; and ferrying Harry Connick Sr. While many of the biggest (the famous crooner’s now 95-year-old father) from one insurers invested in their advertis- campaign stop to another during his first bid for Orleans ing during the pandemic uncer- Parish district attorney in 1973 against Jim Garrison, tainty of 2020, most smaller in- Please see DONELON on Page 2 surance advertisers either slowed or reduced the pace of their Florida Insurers Press Governor spending, according to an analysis by Dowling and Partners To Veto PIP Repeal Legislation Auto insurance trade groups are urging Florida Gov. Securities. Ron DeSantis to veto legislation overhauling the state’s no- Insurers outside the top 20 in- fault system, and at least one lobbyist expects him to do just creased their advertising spending that. Under the new law, drivers would have to have bodily by 2.1% to $681 million in 2020, injury coverage, and insurers would have to offer medical compared to an 11.5% increase payments coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2022. by the top 20 to $9.11 billion. Despite intense lobbying – and more than 28,000 let- (For more on the big advertisers, ters from consumers – lawmakers passed Senate Bill 54, see AIR 5/3/21). requiring drivers to carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury The drop was most significant coverage for one person and $50,000 per accident, while among the very smallest advertis- maintaining the current requirement for at least $10,000 in ers. Those with budgets below property damage liability coverage. It also requires insurers $7 million cut spending 22.7% to offer at least $5,000 in medical payments coverage, and to a total of $318 million. Insur- it includes $10,000 by default if the policyholder does not ers ranked 20th to 50th increased opt out or choose a different amount. Please see ADVERTISING on Page 9 Please see FLORIDA on Page 10

33765 Magellan Isle • Dana Point, CA • 92629 • (949) 443-0330 • www.riskinformation.com Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher Page 2 AUTO INSURANCE REPORT May 10, 2021 DONELON Continued from Page 1 nelon says. “I get great satisfaction out of doing whose conspiracy theories about the JFK assas- it, as I see it, the right way.” sination were memorialized in a film byOliver Stone. Despite entreaties from his parents, Donelon This is Jefferson Parish, where the Donelon abandoned dreams of becoming a Sputnik engi- name has been a part of the political fabric since neer (he couldn’t handle the theoretical calculus) the commissioner’s uncle Tom became mayor and followed his uncle into politics, as a con- of Harahan in 1958 followed by three terms as servative Democrat until 1980, thereafter as a parish president. Jim Donelon has run in and lost Reagan Republican. He hitched his wagon to the so many elections it has become something of a populist Congressman Edwin Edwards, work- joke that even he laughs at, but he’s an extremely ing on the first of his four gubernatorial cam- patient man. Having waited until his 62nd year paigns and then serving as his executive counsel. to be elected to statewide office, he is not easily That was long before the Cajun King’s numerous dissuaded. corruption indictments, the last of which sent As commissioner of insurance in one of the him to prison. most complex – and by acclaim the most corrupt The first stop in Donelon’s long political – insurance markets in the nation, he has some- journey outside of the fraternity council at the how lured capital into a high-risk catastrophe University of New Orleans and the Student Bar zone, attracted the Black vote despite criticism Association at Loyola University College of that he allows insurers to discriminate by proxy, Law was a failed campaign for district attorney Having waited until his 62nd for which, at age 27, he was just barely quali- year to be elected to statewide fied – having been licensed as a lawyer just three months longer than the minimum three-year office, Jim Donelon is not easily requirement. He had success at last with his elec- dissuaded by setbacks. tion as chairman of the Jefferson Parish Coun- cil in 1975 followed by back-to-back bruising and perhaps most impressive of all, after 15 losses in races for lieutenant governor in 1979 years in office he has avoided the prison terms and Congress in 1980. meted out to three of his four predecessors. He Donelon’s election to the state Legislature was picked for the job even though he was in the in 1981 began a long period of political content- wrong party, perhaps because an honest man is ment, during which he raised his four daughters hard to find, but probably because few other peo- while practicing law and serving as a JAG of- ple with the chops to do the job well wanted it. ficer in theLouisiana Army National Guard, When you’ve run as many races as Donelon retiring in 2001 as a colonel after 33 years. has, you develop a tough skin. For every per- He thought he might have to resign in 1993, son who credits him with stabilizing one of the when a political scandal erupted over the tradi- nation’s most challenging property insurance tion of legislators awarding their own children markets after Hurricane Katrina, there are many and the children of other politicians free tuition more blaming him for their unaffordable auto to Tulane University, a perk Donelon pursued and homeowners policies. for one of his daughters. But he couldn’t be happier. As the scandal made headlines, “my wife “With the stroke of a pen, once a week, I do was dying a thousand deaths, honestly,” Donelon something that affects millions of people and recalls. However unsavory, the scholarships were thousands of businesses all over our state,” Do- Please see DONELON on Page 3

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain Sophia Germer photo

DONELON Continued from Page 2 himself off and moved on to the next thing. He legal, and “Tuitiongate” eventually blew over. really found his niche in the insurance commis- During his fifth term in the House, Donelon sioner’s job.” was on the move again. Now 76, Donelon is in his 16th year as In 1998, he did the political equivalent of Louisiana’s elected insurance commissioner – jumping off a cliff when he ran for U.S. Senate second-longest in the country after Washington against the wildly popular Democratic incum- Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler – and bent, John Breaux. And a year later, Donelon he’s already decided to run again in 2023. lost a race for district court judge in which he Should he win, it will have been with no was the hands-down favorite. (His tough-on- help from his wife, a recently retired pharmacist crime opponent, Ronald Bodenheimer, spent whom everyone knows as Mopsy. At a going- more than three years in federal prison as a key away party in March celebrating their youngest figure in Operation Wrinkled Robe, an investiga- daughter’s move to Dallas for a banking promo- tion of corruption in the Jefferson Parish court- tion, Donelon was talking about his intentions house.) within earshot of his wife: “You can run,” he re- “Jim is not the kind of guy who, when he got calls her saying, “but I’m not going to anything.” knocked down, was mad,” says Danny Martiny, The way Donelon sees it, there will still be the longest continuously serving Republican in plenty of work to do when his current term is up, the Louisiana Legislature before his retirement including managing a new generation of industry last year due to term limits. “He got up, dusted Please see DONELON on Page 4

DONELON from Page 3 overseers. Rich Piazza, the chief actuary, and Caro- line Fletcher, the deputy commissioner for financial solvency, are retiring, and more are sure to follow. “I am rebuilding that senior staff with young people,” Donelon says. “To be honest with you, I would be upset to watch it fall apart if I were at home col- lecting my retirement and watching what we worked so hard to do dissipate.” So many of the issues Commissioner Donelon worked at home about once a week through the that make Louisiana an un- pandemic, traveling most days to his Baton Rouge office. Sophia Germer photo attractive insurance market seem utterly intractable. It’s the fact that he brought stability and consis- Louisiana’s neglected roads and dangerous driv- tency.” ers are met with a litigation climate that inflates Donelon seems to genuinely relish walking auto insurance costs, making it so expensive that the tightrope required to keep insurers writ- 45% of drivers buy policies with minimum limits ing coverage in an unprofitable auto market and large numbers risk driving with no coverage and catastrophe-prone property market while at all. Climate change is exacerbating Louisi- convincing the state’s voters that he’s protect- ana’s exposure to unrelenting tropical storms – ing their interests with, among other things, his like the $9.6 billion triple threat of Laura, Delta prior approval of rates. Most of the $22 million and Zeta that made 2020 the state’s second- his department recovered in response to con- costliest hurricane season after 2005, when hur- sumer complaints in 2020 came from insurers ricanes Katrina and Rita devastated lives, neigh- shortchanging victims of last year’s hurricanes. borhoods and the property insurance market with Yet every four years, Donelon has to defend his nearly $29 billion in insured losses. record against biting criticism that he neglects But judging by the many elections Donelon consumers in favor of the insurance interests that lost before his long tenure as insurance commis- bankroll his election. sioner – as well as his ability to keep his office From Donelon’s vantage, the best way to free of corruption charges – the man is undaunt- fulfill the Insurance Department’s mission to ed by long odds. protect consumers is to make Louisiana a more “This state has a history of challenging insur- hospitable place for insurers to compete, and the ance commissioners,” says Tim Coulon, execu- best way to do that is to let them charge actuari- tive director of the Jefferson Business Council ally justified prices using rating and underwriting and a former Jefferson Parish president who met factors permitted by law while enforcing statu- Donelon early in his political career. “Whether tory guardrails, like the 1992 law that bars car- you like everything Jim has done is immaterial. Please see DONELON on Page 5

DONELON Continued from Page 4 businesses and people associated with them con- riers from dropping homeowners policies after tributed $1.6 million of the $6.3 million Donelon three years. (Insurers hate that law.) Consumer has raised for races dating back to 1999, when he advocates and trial lawyers, however, criticize chaired the House Insurance Committee. Donelon for doing the industry’s bidding at the Invariably, political opponents link those expense of consumers’ rights. campaign contributions to his defense of un- As a legislator, Donelon pushed for a “no popular practices, like charging single people pay, no play” bill that prevents most uninsured or those with low credit scores higher auto in- drivers from suing to recover damages in an ac- surance rates. But Donelon explains that these cident. Over the years, he and the broader busi- drivers pay more because actuaries have demon- ness community pressed for tort reforms in an strated they produce higher losses. effort to reduce the litigation costs that make it “The insurance commissioner’s job is a very impossible to find coverage for logging trucks, thankless job, especially in a state like Louisiana, school busses and the vans that transport the el- where we’ve got some of the highest insurance derly to medical appointments. rates,” Martiny says. “There are a lot of things Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic rav- you can criticize Jim about if you want, but he’s aged his state, Donelon made repeated trips to not a crook.” the Capitol to make the case in favor of tort re- It may seem like a low bar, but in Louisiana, forms and against restrictions on rating factors, that’s a high compliment. like gender. “I would say to myself, is it really worth risking my life to go testify in this com- Donelon’s mother didn’t mittee? I did it a half-dozen times and got away want him to work at the state with it.” Insurance Department, fearing The Legislature passed House Bill 57, which he’d end up in jail. enables more cases to receive jury trials; bars juries from hearing how much insurance defen- dants have; puts some limits on recoveries for medical expenses; and allows evidence about the When Donelon joined the Louisiana De- failure to wear seat belts. (See AIR 7/20/20) partment of Insurance as chief deputy commis- Donelon thinks the legislation will help, but sioner in 2001, he was already familiar with the compromises weakened it too much to deliver state’s insurance cesspool. the 25% auto insurance savings he hoped for; A decade earlier, he was vice chair of the consumer advocates call it a business giveaway House Insurance Committee as the state faced disguised as a way to lower auto insurance costs. a meltdown in the nonstandard auto insurance “The cost of insurance is too high in Loui- market. About 15 carriers failed, some of which siana, and things have only gotten worse during had paid bribes disguised as contributions to the 15 years of Commissioner Donelon’s reign,” former Commissioner Sherman Bernard in says Douglas Heller of the Consumer Federa- exchange for licenses to sell insurance. Doug tion of America. “However, in a world where Green, running as a reform candidate, unseated a big campaign war chest can be hard to over- Bernard, who eventually went to prison on ex- come, the insurance industry has been more than tortion charges. But then Green, too, landed in happy to contribute millions to keep Donelon in prison on bribery charges in connection with the office.” 1989 collapse of Champion Insurance Co. According to FollowtheMoney.org, insurance Please see DONELON on Page 6

Warning: Auto Insurance Report is a confidential, copyrighted newsletter for subscribers only. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any form or means, including scanning or photocopying, without prior permission of the Publisher. For information call (949) 443-0330. Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher Page 6 AUTO INSURANCE REPORT May 10, 2021 DONELON Continued from Page 5 can’t do that. They’re all going to jail,’” he re- “The executives went to jail, and the com- calls. “I said, ‘Just trust me, I’m not going to missioner went to jail because of the corruption,” jail.’” Donelon says of the Champion fiasco, which left His second-oldest daughter, Erin Donelon the state guaranty fund on the hook for about Alford, a professor at Tulane Law School, $126 million in unpaid claims, $11 million of had a similar reaction.“Dad, you can’t go there. which was recovered in liquidation. “The insur- They’re all going to jail,” she told him. It took ers that had to be assessed took credit on their Erin’s husband, Raley Alford, whose own father premium taxes over 10 years for those assess- was a big-time Democratic operative, to “con- ments.” vince my daughter to stop worrying about me,” Next up was Jim Brown, a onetime close Donelon says. friend turned adversary, whose son is Donelon’s Admittedly, Donelon was a bit worried him- godchild. Over nine years in office, beginning in self. 1991, Brown shut down failing insurance com- “The entire time I worked for Robert, those panies and restored the Insurance Department’s five years, we were paranoid the whole time and credibility as a solvency regulator with tighter literally assumed our phones were bugged,” he regulation and accreditation from the National says. Association of Insurance Commissioners. After Brown’s appeal failed and he was Despite these accomplishments, he became forced to resign as commissioner, Wooley re- luctantly ran for his seat in 2003. Wooley told As commissioner, Jim Donelon he planned to step down early to return Brown stabilized the market, to the private sector, though he waited until and though he insists he was February 2006 to help deal with the aftermath framed, still went to prison. of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Unable to find another Democrat who wanted to run for the the third successive commissioner to end up in seat, Wooley passed the baton across the politi- prison, convicted of lying to the FBI after get- cal aisle to Donelon, who narrowly won a special ting caught in the crossfire of a corruption inves- election to keep the job, and then won four sub- tigation that did not involve him. (To this day, sequent terms. Brown fiercely proclaims he was framed.) Donelon’s most serious challenge came in Brown’s deputy and political ally, Robert 2019 from Tim Temple, who contrasted his ex- Wooley served as acting commissioner while perience as an insurance agent and his leadership Brown fought the charges. In 2001, Wooley at a catastrophe response company working on plucked Donelon from the Legislature to serve as the 2010 BP oil spill with the motives of life- his chief deputy. long politicians, like Donelon. Temple’s father Donelon’s family, especially his mother, owned a workers compensation insurer and was thought he was crazy for taking the job. founding chairman of the Louisiana Workers Lola Donelon, who died in December 2019 Compensation Corp., which was created by at age 97, was “the rock” of her son’s life, the constitutional amendment in 1991 to save a fail- woman who held the family together during his ing industry. Now running his family investment father’s struggles with mental illness, encourag- business, Temple spent $1.8 million of his own ing her children’s personal and professional suc- money in the campaign, on which Wooley, Do- cess. nelon’s former boss, was a paid consultant. “My mother’s words to me were, ‘Jim, you Please see DONELON on Page 7

Commissioner Donelon isn’t shy, and is a regular on Louisiana news programs

DONELON Continued from Page 6 responsible,” says Piazza, who is retiring as chief actuary in July after 29 years. “Not that it could have been prevented, but there was no question For all the difficulty regulating insurance in a changes had to be made.” complex market, Donelon’s worst day on the job Industry observers credit the work Wooley had nothing to do with storm-ravaged communi- started and Donelon completed to navigate the ties or high auto insurance rates. insurance crisis wrought by Hurricane Katrina It was 2011, and Donelon had fallen asleep and rebuild the market with support from the late in the car driving him back to the office in Baton Democratic Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. Rouge from a speaking engagement in Lafayette. A key, but controversial, step was the 2007 As they crossed the elevated section of Interstate legislation that scrapped the highly politicized 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin, his driver woke Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission, him because the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. moving approval for insurance rates to the Insur- The news was brutal. Two of his best fraud ance Department. Donelon had been calling for investigators – Kim Sledge, 44, and Rhett its abolition for years, first as a legislator and Jeansonne, 39 – were shot and killed by an then as Wooley’s deputy. insurance agent who also killed himself. The “They were good people, but they didn’t agent, “was preying on French-speaking country have to know a thing about insurance to be on people who didn’t have checking accounts who the insurance rating commission,” says Piazza, were paying him in cash for their insurance,” whose politically unpalatable recommendations Donelon says. “He was pocketing the money and to accept actuarially justified rate hikes were of- not getting them covered.” ten unheeded. “They were instructed what to do Ten years later, the shooting still weighs or not to do by the governor.” heavily on him. While insurers prefer more rating flexibility, “I had to call the widow and widower be- Donelon believes the prior approval system is fore the news media got it to tell them that their best able to protect consumers from inappropri- spouse had died,” he recalls. “Easily, it was the ate practices that could result from the sophisti- worst day of my life, and it will be, I’m sure, un- cated algorithms and artificial intelligence that til the day I die.” insurers increasingly rely upon. He employed Half the fraud investigators now carry guns, that power to prevent State Farm from using a and they accompany colleagues in potentially model that projected much higher losses than its dangerous circumstances. other models, and he threatened to reject filings “As commissioner of insurance, he felt very Please see DONELON on Page 8

Warning: Auto Insurance Report is a confidential, copyrighted newsletter for subscribers only. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any form or means, including scanning or photocopying, without prior permission of the Publisher. For information call (949) 443-0330. Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher Page 8 AUTO INSURANCE REPORT May 10, 2021 DONELON Continued from Page 7 Donelon, who approved the increase in March. that used price optimization to adjust rates based “What they’ve done since Katrina is almost on a customer’s sensitivity to price changes. remarkable,” says Fred Karlinsky, an insurance To lure capital into the battered post-Katrina regulatory attorney who has represented entrants market, the state also started offering $100 mil- to the Louisiana market. “Jim’s ability to make lion in incentive grants to insurers willing to sure that the marketplace can withstand any of commit to five years in the state with 25% of the external pressures, whether they be weather new business coming from Citizens Property or the trial bar or others, is second to none.” Insurance Corp. Citizens was created in 2002 Having stabilized the property insurance to replace the FAIR Plan and coastal residual market, Donelon sees the auto insurance market market, whose unlimited assessments deterred as the biggest piece of unfinished business. He carriers from entering the Louisiana market. Like points to excessive litigation and distracted driv- its counterpart in Florida, Citizens shifted the ing as the main culprits, not the rating factors risk of losses onto policyholders, not the insurers that consumer advocates readily target. unwilling to write these risks in the first place. When critics decry his approval of rate fil- By the time Katrina hit, Citizens was rife ings that use credit-based insurance scores, the with mismanagement and corruption, Donelon commissioner points to the state law that allows says. It couldn’t balance its books, and class- them and explains the reasons why. “A third of our population is minority, and “My job is to regulate insur- there is no denying the fact that the use of credit, ance. It’s not to redistribute which is actuarially justified by everyone’s wealth,” Donelon says. “I don’t agreement – no question about it – is more heav- have a voice in that.” ily burdensome to those minorities than it is to the non-minority,” he says. But prohibiting the action lawyers eventually won settlements to use of credit scores would hurt other credit-wor- the tune of $260 million for the insurer’s failure thy minority drivers in higher-risk ZIP codes, he to pay hurricane claims on time. All the while, says, like retirees in the Tremé neighborhood of new policies were pouring in as private insurers New Orleans. retreated from the market. By 2008, Citizens’ “My job is to regulate insurance,” he says. market share spiked to 9.8%, making it the third- “It’s not to redistribute wealth. It’s not to expand largest property insurer in the state. Medicaid. It’s not to do any of those social pro- With 32 new carriers writing property cover- grams that are being talked about so much these age in Louisiana, the market share of Citizens days. I don’t have a voice in that.” fell to 0.5% last year. Donelon is quick to point out the support he While plenty of homeowners are still reluc- receives from Black voters. “I carried the African tant to buy coverage from insurers that aren’t American vote comfortably in the last election, household names, the market share of the two and I am very, very proud of that,” he says. “I leading insurers – State Farm and Allstate – has got 53% of the vote statewide. I got 53% of the dropped from 52% before Katrina to just 36% in vote in my home parish of Jefferson. I got 52% 2020. Even after last year’s record-setting hur- of the vote in Orleans Parish, which is two-thirds ricane season, which produced a statewide in- African American. That speaks volumes to me curred loss ratio nearing 250%, Citizens required about the job that I’ve done and the representa- just a 2.3% rate increase, because of its lower tion I’ve made in minority areas.” exposure and high levels of reinsurance, says Please see DONELON on Page 10

Sources: S&P Global Market Intelligence, NAIC, Company Reports, Dowling & Partners Analysis Advertising expenditures are pulled from the statutory Underwriting and Investment Exhibit Part 3, Line 4 and consist of services of advertising agents, public relations counsel, space in publications, literature for advertising/promotional purposes, drawings in connection with advertising, printing/paper charges in bills covering advertising, media broadcasts, prospects/mailing lists and signs for agents, and souvenirs for general distribution.

ADVERTISING Continued from Page 1 After trimming its budget from a peak of $27 their spending a modest 2.1% to $363 million. million in 2016, Auto-Owners has been more Property insurer Lemonade stands out with comfortable spending around $20 million. Shel- a steady rise in spending that should surge as the ter, up 11% to $19 million, and Sentry, up 10% company starts offering auto insurance. With a to $18 million, continued to invest in advertising. stock market capitalization exceeding $5 billion, After boosting spending from $5 million in 2017 the insuretech should be ready to make an even to $10 million in 2019, Wawanesa increased a bigger advertising splash. modest 3% in 2020 with its whispering televi- A number of farm bureaus pulled back on sion advertising. their advertising in 2020. Alabama-based Alfa Dowling uses data from S&P Global Mar- Mutual cut spending by 3%, Tennessee Farm- ket Intelligence, supplemented by its own re- ers by 8%, Iowa Farm Bureau by 3%, and search because some statutory advertising data Texas Farm Bureau by 11%. is incomplete. It remains unclear how companies Going in the other direction were the Michi- report sponsorships, naming rights and other gan Farm Bureau, which boosted its budget long-term advertising or brand expenses. While 56% while the Kentucky Farm Bureau added Dowling’s numbers are the best available, they 2% to its spending. are not exact, sometimes understating spending. AIR

Warning: Auto Insurance Report is a confidential, copyrighted newsletter for subscribers only. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any form or means, including scanning or photocopying, without prior permission of the Publisher. For information call (949) 443-0330. Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher Page 10 AUTO INSURANCE REPORT May 10, 2021 FLORIDA Continued from Page 1 Florida currently requires drivers to carry AUTO INSURANCE REPORT $10,000 in PIP. In 2012, lawmakers passed Established 1993 reforms tightly limiting coverage as a way to Brian P. Sullivan, Editor (949) 443-0330 reduce fraud and abuse and rein in costs. The re- [email protected] forms would not apply to the med pay coverage. Leslie Werstein Hann, Managing Editor The American Property Casualty Insur- (908) 310-7129 ance Association (APCIA) said the new system [email protected] could increase the cost of the average auto insur- Patrick Sullivan, Senior Editor ‭(949) 412-5851 ance policy by as much as 23%, or $344. Drivers [email protected] carrying the lowest levels of coverage could see Ed McMenamin, Senior Editor increases as high as $805 a year. ‭(217) 201-3956‬ The biggest problem with the PIP repeal leg- [email protected] islation, insurance industry representatives say, Contributing Writers is that it encourages, rather than reduces, costly Elaine Silvestrini, John Yoswick litigation that plagues the current system. Subscription Information: (949) 443-0330 On the Web: www.riskinformation.com “SB 54 lacks any meaningful legal reforms Auto Insurance Report, © 2021, published weekly, 48 times a year, by Risk Information Inc., 33765 Magellan Isle, Dana Point, CA 92629. It is a to Florida’s bad faith laws, which are a primary violation of federal law to photocopy or reproduce any part of this publication source of lawsuit abuse and a key cost driver in without first obtaining permission from the Publisher. ISSN: 1084-2950 the Florida auto insurance system,” Logan Mc- Subscription Rate: $1,207 per year by mail, or contact the editor for information on Faddin, APCIA assistant vice president for state enterprise-wide electronic delivery. government affairs, said in a news release. Raising costs for drivers who can’t afford DONELON Continued from Page 8 more than minimum coverage today could lead In a state where the law is sometimes viewed them to drop coverage. The Insurance Research as rather flexible, Donelon uses it as a shield. Council recently estimated that 20.4% of Florida The commissioner’s door is open to anyone drivers were uninsured in 2019. seeking help or pressing a point of view, though “We are extremely concerned that this bill he won’t “stretch his authority just to help some- would substantially increase rates for our cus- one because they happen to be a constituent of tomers and Florida residents who can least afford some type,” Piazza says. “Rather than show fa- an increase, while forcing hundreds of thousands voritism that might be questionable – as some of of Floridians already struggling to pay current the past commissioners have – Donelon follows premiums to drive without insurance,” Michael the book.” Carlson, CEO of the Personal Insurance Fed- More than 10 years ago, insurance agent eration of Florida, said in a news release. Anderson Baker faced that shield. He, Donelon Insurance regulatory attorney Fred Karlin- and other staffers were sitting around a table at sky expects that DeSantis will veto the legisla- the Insurance Department, discussing a point of tion because of cost concerns for Florida drivers. disagreement. “The governor will have an issue with that, in “I saw the law one way, and he saw the law my opinion,” he said. another way,” Baker recalls. “Without it being a Florida lawmakers also passed legislation, heated argument, he said to me ‘Anderson, the that enables insurers to exclude specific drivers law says I shall do this, so I shall do this. There’s in a household with the signed consent of the no wiggle room, and I’m not going to jail for AIR named insured. you.” AIR

JUST CLICK ON THE LOGOS BELOW TO GET STARTED . . .

With the accursed COVID-19 pandemic slowly but surely coming under control, we are thrilled to open registration for our fall 2021 conferences. We promise expanded time for networking — everyone needs to talk! — in addition to outstanding presentations.

We are hard at work developing programs With wide distribution of the vaccines, we are to review the developments of the crazy confident it will be safe to join together again pandemic year, and assess how the world will for in-person events. To be sure, there remains look going forward. What is more, industry uncertainty about the logistics of a large meeting, innovators have proven capable of working at but much will become clear in the next few their kitchen table, and we can’t wait to share months. You can count on us to follow federal and new ideas that were hatched during the world’s state guidelines, not to mention common sense, long lockdown. in developing an event that will be safe for all.

Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher May 10, 2021 AUTO INSURANCE REPORT Page 11 WE’RE BACK! We will first open the doors in Florida for the 2021 Auto Insurance Report National Conference at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island on September 12–14. This magical island, just a short drive from Jacksonville,JUST CLICK provides ON THE LOGOS BELOW TO GET STARTED . . . the perfect venue for a joyous reunion with industry friends and colleagues.

The 2021 Property Insurance Report National Conference will take place November 14–16 at the Waldorf-Astoria Monarch Beach Resort, one of our favorite venues. We have already secured a number of excellent speakers, ensuring that your time in the ballroom will be as profitable as the opportunity to network again for the first time in nearly two years. With the accursed COVID-19 pandemic slowly but surely coming under control, we are thrilled to open registration for our fall 2021 conferences. We promise expanded time for networking — everyone needs to talk! — in addition to outstanding presentations.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! We are hard at work developing programs With wide distribution of the vaccines, we are to review the developments of the crazy confident it will be safe to join together again pandemic year, and assess how the world will for in-person events. To be sure, there remains look going forward. What is more, industry uncertainty about the logistics of a large meeting, innovators have proven capable of working at but much will become clear in the next few their kitchen table, and we can’t wait to share months. You can count on us to follow federal and new ideas that were hatched during the world’s state guidelines, not to mention common sense, long lockdown. in developing an event that will be safe for all.

We will first open the doors in Florida for the 2021 Auto Insurance Report National Warning: Auto Insurance Report is a confidential, copyrighted newsletter for subscribers only. Conference No part at ofthe this Ritz-Carlton, publication Amelia may Island be reproduced by any form or means, including scanning or on photocopying,September 12–14. without This magical prior permissionisland, of the Publisher. For information call (949) 443-0330. just a short drive from Jacksonville, provides the perfect venue for a joyous reunion with industry friends and colleagues.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! Reprinted With Permission Of The Publisher Page 12 AUTO INSURANCE REPORT May 10, 2021 gather and share extensive vehicle data, and their Registration Now Open For associated interest in selling insurance 2021 National Conferences • Renewed challenges to the use of credit We are now taking registration for the 2021 information for insurance underwriting and pric- Auto Insurance Report National Conference, ing following the social justice protests of 2020. moved to the safety of Sept. 12-14 this year to How will the industry respond, and what alterna- give us all the opportunity to gather together tives exist when the use of credit is curtailed? once more. • What will happen to rental car companies We are also opening registration for the as they reel from a lack of business from the auto Property Insurance Report National Conference, repair industry? which will be held Nov. 14-16 at the Waldorf As- • Virtual claim settlement – still in its infancy toria Monarch Beach in Dana Point, CA. – was forced into heavy use during the pandem- To be sure, there is still ic. What worked, what didn’t, some uncertainty about the lo- and what does the future hold? gistics of a large meeting in the • And more!

wake of COVID-19, but much • And plenty of networking! will become clear in the next Phone (904) 277-1100, Fax (904) 491-1567 We are returning to Flor- 4750 Amelia Island Parkway, Amelia Island, FL 32034 few months. You can count on www.ritzcarlton.com/ameliaisland ida’s Ritz-Carlton, Amelia

us to follow federal Island because our and state guidelines, Phone (904) 277-1100, Fax (904) 491-1567 prior two events not to mention 4750 Amelia Island Parkway, Amelia Island, FL 32034 there were so well common sense, in www.ritzcarlton.com/ameliaisland received. Just a

developing an event short drive from that will be safe for Jacksonville Inter- all. If regulations national Airport prevent us from (JAX), the resort gathering in person, provides the per-

be assured we will fect mix of modern

immediately refund meeting space with Poised on a bluff of dunes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, The Ritza beautiful-Carlton, Amelia setting Island finds itsto home help in a fosterdestination the conversa- all registration fees,of unspoiled just coastal as webeauty did and Southern in 2020. charm. Surrounded by an 18-hole Championship golf course, this resort provides We are hard impeccableat work service creating to make every a guestprogram feel pampered. to Whether barefoottions at that the beach are or inso formal necessary attire for a grand after gala, more than a year you will find our resort to be the perfect personal hideaway or conference resort. Here, you will experience true island living review the developmentsand discover a spir ofit of the seaside crazy elegance. pandemic apart. Poised on a bluff of dunes overlooking the year and to assess how the world will Tolook make ago guest- room resAtlanticervation you may Ocean, use The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island this link https://book.passkey.com/go/AutoIns2021 ing forward. Industry innovators have provenOr you may call (888is) 239in -1217a destination. of unspoiled coastal beauty. capable of working at their kitchen table, and we **Due to high demand, reservations are encouragedThe to be resort made at your has earliest made convenience. the most of the past year, can’t wait to share new ideas that wereRoom hatched Reservation Deadlinerenovating is August 9, 2021 guest rooms, meeting rooms and res-

during the world’sRate forlong a King lockdown. Bed with Coastal ViewHere or Two are (2) Queen Beds withtaurants. Coastal View is $350.00 a night. The hotel rooms are some of the topicsnon -smoking.we plan Group to Room discuss: Rate will be available to Coastal View RoomsThe from 2021Wednesday Auto, September Insurance 08, 2021 through Report National Thursday, September 16, 2021 if space is available. Rooms are only available to Registered Conference Attendees. • The addition of new electric vehicles to the Conference will sell out quickly, so please don’t Deposit and Cancelation Policy: A credit card is required as a guarantee to confirm a reservation. Should the Ritz-Carlton, ongoing complicationsAmelia Island of not accidentreceive the credit avoidance card guarantee, the reservation wait will not too be confirmed. long to There secure is a seven your(7) day prior space to and reserve arrival cancelation policy. All reservations canceled within seven (7) days of arrival will forfeit first and last night’s room rate. Poisedsystems on a bluff of dunes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, The yourRitz-Carlton, hotel room Amelia before Island our finds discounted its home roomin a destination of unspoiled coastal beautyReservation and CutSouthern-Off: Rooms charm.will be held Surrounded for the attendees of bythe Autoan 18Insurance-hole Report Championship National Conference golf at this course, this resort provides • The surge inspecial usage-based rate until August 9, insurance 2021. Reservations pro will -be received untilrates August are 9, 2021 gone., or until Visit the reserved our block registration fills. At that page today. impeccablegrams se rviceas the to pandemic maketime, reservationsevery sharply guest will be feel accepted reduced pampered. on a space driving-available Whether basis at the Webarefoot prev ailinglook rate. atforward the beach more or in than formal words attire can for convey a grand togala, you will find our resort to be the perfect personal hideaway or conference resort. Here, you will experience true island living • A greater commitment by automakers to seeing everyone in September! AIR and discover a spirit of seaside elegance. Warning: Auto Insurance Report is a confidential, copyrighted newsletter for subscribers only. No part of this publicationTo make may abe guest reproduced room res byervation any form you mayor means, use including scanning or photocopying, without priorthis permission link https://book.passkey.com/go/AutoIns2021 of the Publisher. For information call (949) 443-0330. Or you may call (888) 239-1217.

**Due to high demand, reservations are encouraged to be made at your earliest convenience. Room Reservation Deadline is August 9, 2021

Rate for a King Bed with Coastal View or Two (2) Queen Beds with Coastal View is $350.00 a night. The hotel rooms are non-smoking. Group Room Rate will be available to Coastal View Rooms from Wednesday, September 08, 2021 through Thursday, September 16, 2021 if space is available. Rooms are only available to Registered Conference Attendees.

Deposit and Cancelation Policy: A credit card is required as a guarantee to confirm a reservation. Should the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island not receive the credit card guarantee, the reservation will not be confirmed. There is a seven (7) day prior to arrival cancelation policy. All reservations canceled within seven (7) days of arrival will forfeit first and last night’s room rate.

Reservation Cut-Off: Rooms will be held for the attendees of the Auto Insurance Report National Conference at this special rate until August 9, 2021. Reservations will be received until August 9, 2021, or until the reserved block fills. At that time, reservations will be accepted on a space-available basis at the prevailing rate.