Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Insurers say limiting information would make coverage unfair

Insurers say limiting information would make coverage unfair

Mar 08, 2005 - 23:19:51 CST

By CURT WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer

Good drivers and responsible homeowners could be forced to pay artificially high premiums if North Dakota limits the information that companies can use to write insurance policies, industry representatives say.

"The entity that's going to be least affected are insurance companies. We'll make adjustments. I don't know if it'll be popular with North Dakota consumers," said Rob Hovland, president of Central Mutual Insurance Co. of Rugby.

Hovland and other insurance executives are fighting a measure that would ban certain loss histories from the formulas used to make coverage decisions. The bill, supported by Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman, would affect both home and auto insurance.

Poolman said the bill is an answer to North Dakotans who complain that insurance firms unfairly use damage claims that insurers do not pay -- or the claims history of a previous home owner -- to reject policies or raise rates.

For example, a homeowner whose roof is damaged by a hailstorm may decide not to invoke his or her insurance coverage if the damage is slightly more expensive to repair than the policy's deductible.

But that homeowner still could see higher premiums because firms record such unpaid claims and use them to determine whether to insure a building, Poolman said.

"We think that violates a fundamental fairness for North Dakota consumers," he told members of the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee.

The committee did not immediately act on the bill Tuesday. It already has been approved in the Senate, and will get a House vote.

Hovland said the measure could hurt customers who pose a low insurance risk by keeping underwriters from noticing troubling patterns in another customer's behavior.

An elderly driver, for instance, may pay for a series of small auto accidents in an attempt to hide them from insurers and licensing authorities, he said.

Under Poolman's proposal, an insurance company could not charge higher premiums if it discovered a history of repairs and found out the damage was caused by car crashes.

"I don't think it defies common sense to take that into account," Hovland said.

Pat Ward, a Bismarck attorney and spokesman for State Farm Insurance, said North Dakotans don't seem to need added protection because the state already boasts some of the nation's lowest auto and homeowner insurance rates.

"The bill addresses problems that really aren't existing in North Dakota at this time," he said.

The bill is SB2186.

News > State

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Comments

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huh? wrote on Oct 4, 2006 1:24 PM:

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Max wrote on Aug 22, 2006 8:41 PM:

" Who owns the natural gas processing plants and who are the main shareholders. Gov. Hoeven stated in 2004 that Tesoro should get 1 million for nothing. Tesoro CEO had just cashed in 5% of his shares of stock for 25 million and bought back 870 million in bonds and that was when oil was $40 a a barrel he now owns about 1 billion at $70 a barrel I would imagine. The gas refinerys cut production 10% in Feb and early again this spring because their was a surplus on hand because Americans had driven less. This is price fixing as far as I am concern. The Tribune still has not asked about the 5 major oil companies that were being investigated for price fixing. Major natural gas storage operators Duke Energy Corp., El Paso Corp., CenterPoint Energy Inc. and ONEOK Inc. told the Wall Street Journal they had received subpoenas from investigators. Several other companies have not received them but are assisting with the investigation. Is this the 2000-2004 rebate we got back from MDU? Did we only get paid for 1 year like other states instead of 4 years refunds? MDU was vague on how we got over charged. Oil and Gas gave 50 million and was the largest contributor to Repulicans campaings. Is this pay for the 1 million Mr. Hoeven received from the Bush Rove campaign committee in 2000? "

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Tim Griffin Jr. wrote on May 18, 2006 10:03 AM:

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