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Letter to the editor

Talk of the bay: Home insurers insulated from financial crises

By Times Staff
Published January 3, 2008

Despite the slump in the housing market, it looks like it'll be another good year for the property insurance industry. According to a report Wednesday by rating service A.M. Best, the industry saw net income rise 4.4 percent through the first nine months of 2007, driven largely by underwriting profits and investment returns. Net income was $49.8-billion, up from $47.7-billion for the same period a year ago. How did Florida do? Quite well, thank you. Initial reports show the industry had profits of at least $3.4-billion last year.

WellCare yanks its Connecticut deal

WellCare Health Plans of Tampa has told Connecticut state officials thanks, but no thanks. As of March 1, WellCare will end its Medicaid contract with Connecticut, which covers about 35,000 people and brought in $57-million in revenues during the first nine months of 2007. Connecticut officials told Medicaid insurers in November that it would be paying a flat fee for administrative services, rather than a per-capita rate. WellCare, which claims it spent 86 percent of Connecticut's money on medical bills, rejected the offer. WellCare, which had revenue of $3.8-billion last year, said termination of the Connecticut Medicaid business is not expected to have a material effect on its operations. Nor will it affect WellCare's Medicare Advantage plans for seniors in four Connecticut counties.

FPL nuke reactor on five-day hiatus

Florida Power & Light's 839-megawatt St. Lucie 2 nuclear reactor remained off line Wednesday, the fifth day the reactor has been shut because of technical problems. St. Lucie 2 is one of two reactors at the site; St. Lucie 1 was at full power Wednesday. FPL owns two more reactors in Florida, both at Turkey Point. April Schilpp of FPL Nuclear said the investigation and repair are complicated and that the reactor will be working normally "soon."

You say: Fix insurance first

It's hard to even call this news, isn't it? Thirty percent of the 270 respondents to an unscientific Times' poll say "homeowners insurance" is the financial strain of 2007 that they most want to see improve in 2008. If you don't own a house, you likely sided with the 24 percent who said "gas prices." (And if you live in an RV, well, it's just tough all over, isn't it?) Other results: "property taxes" 20 percent, "recession fears" 16 percent and "mortgage defaults" 9 percent.

[Last modified January 2, 2008, 23:20:23]