Florida Automobile JUA Board of Governors Meeting 9/08/06
Jan 14, 2007
The Board of Governors of the Florida Automobile Joint Underwriting Association (FAJUA) and its various committees met on September 6 and 7, 2006, in Miami. Among the topics discussed:
Service Provider
The Board lauded the efforts of its staff in converting FAJUA from a service carrier to service provider model. FAJUA will continue to work with York Claims in adjusting claims and plans to offer online applications and claims handling by January 2007. The staff and Board predict that this new way of doing business will lead to an increase in efficiency and decrease in costs – benefits which ultimately may reduce the size of future assessments levied against members.
Anti-fraud
The Board also praised FAJUA’s activities in investigating and prosecuting cases of insurance fraud. Since July 2004, almost $800,000 in restitution has been ordered as a direct result of FAJUA’s anti-fraud prosecutions. Moreover, there has been a significant decrease in the frequency of staged accidents in Miami-Dade County and an increase in the number of cases investigated and closed by FAJUA’s anti-fraud team. Again, the Board observed that FAJUA’s anti-fraud efforts can benefit member insurers by deterring fraud and generating restitution.
Rate Filing
The Board noted that applications to FAJUA have decreased dramatically in the last year with PIP applications dropping by 92.1% and commercial applications by 48.4%. This drop, along with reductions in administrative costs, led the Board to adopt a proposed rate change of +14.2% for PIP and +17.4% for commercial. FAJUA’s proposed rates must be filed with the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) by September 30, 2006.
Miscellaneous
The Board approved a variety of motions, the bulk of which involved changes to FAJUA forms and manuals. For example, the Board agreed that henceforth FAJUA policies will bear language stating that insurance is effective at 12:01 a.m. of the day following the binding of coverage. The Board noted that in spite of this language, coverage will commence at the time a policy is bound. The change in language is intended to standardize policies held by FAJUA insureds.
The Board agreed not to entertain a member insurer’s request that FAJUA waive approximately $50,000 in outstanding late fees. The insurer, which twice failed to tender assessment payments in a timely manner, has orally requested that FAJUA waive the fees in light of the fact that all payments are now up-to-date. The Board agreed that it would improper to entertain such a request without written documentation to support the request and took no action to waive the fees.
Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Cordially,
Brigette E. Adams