No Good Hands in Florida - Florida Suspends Allstate

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty suspended Allstate's authority to write new business in Florida today according to a news release from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Allstate Insurance Co., Allstate Indemnity Co., and Allstate Property and Casualty Co., were suspended and cannot write new business in Florida. Current policies and policyholders are not affected. Allstate will need to follow all existing laws and regulations pertaining to its existing Florida business.

Allstate was served a number of subpoenas and required to produce documents for a scheduled hearing. Instead the company relied on the good hands of its attorneys and responded with 51 pages of objections to the document requests. Commissioner McCarty stated in the news release:

"In view of Allstate's ongoing, blatant disregard of our subpoenas, I have little choice but to take an action that will send a clear message about how seriously I am taking this issue. Suspending their certificate of authority to write new business in our state should make my point."

According to McCarty, Allstate is paying $25,000 per day on a civil contempt order in Missouri and refuses to produce "similar" documents in that state.