Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "How DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. works is they are a reinsurance company. DaVinci is a third party company that sells coverage to insurance agencies which, in turn sell to the public. DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. targets high-risk hurricane properties. In 2005, Florida insurance policies were made up 23 percent of DaVinci's revenue. That number climbed to 41 percent by 2009."

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "State Farm Florida claims not to own DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. If that is true then why aren't the names of DaVinci's directors public. The Sarasota Herald Tribune asked State Farm Florida for the names of the directors. State Farm Florida refused to released that information. In truth, State Farm Florida owns a 40 percent share and sits on the board of DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd."

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "State Farm Florida doesn't want to talk about it's ties to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd."

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "Another interesting fact is DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. went after State Farm customers after the insurer dropped policies for many coastal homeowners. The Sarasota Herald Tribune has a chart DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. homeowner insurance sales increasing has State Farm was losing policies."

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "State Farm Florida leaves the state. Citizens Property Insurance can not afford to provide insurance policies to every homeowner. The result is a market for DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. The catch is DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. charges the highest premiums in Florida. DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. is excempt from Florida insurance regulations since the company is technically not based in the United States."

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "According to Bloomberg Businessweek DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. operates in the Renaissance House at the address 12 Crow Lane Pembroke, Bermuda. According to Google Maps the address isn't correct. The Renaissance House is on E. Broadway, just off of Crow Lane. There are a lot of boats around the Renaissance House. It is hard to tell from the satellite photo if any offices are in the building"

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com: "When State Farm stepped up its march out of Florida, it loudly and publicly claimed hurricanes were pushing it toward financial disaster."

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com: "The company argued it had to leave the Florida coast -- and drop nearly half a million customers -- because it could not profit in a state wracked by so many storms.

But State Farm never really left Florida."

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com: "A Herald-Tribune investigation finds Florida's largest insurer has instead found an easier way to profit from homeowners desperate for coverage. And the desperation State Farm helped create allows it to command some of the highest rates in the world."

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com: "The conduit for this back-door insurance is DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd., an offshore company with no physical office or employees of its own that sells policies to insurers to cover their storm losses.

The virtual corporation was launched in 2001 by State Farm and a Bermuda reinsurer with which it has close ties.

State Farm provided $200 million in seed capital. Its partner, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., took on management and the recruitment of other investors."

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis | HeraldTribune.com: "While it has little physical presence, DaVinci is now one of the state's most important hurricane reinsurers. Contracts show DaVinci provided coverage last year to more than 50 Florida insurance carriers representing the owners of 3.7 million homes.

Through DaVinci, State Farm quietly continues to collect money from thousands of former customers who were told their homes were too risky to insure.
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Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "The Sarasota Herald Tribune did an investigative story on State Farm. After State Farm Florida stopped selling homeowners insurance in Florida they set up with the shell company DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. in Bermuda. State Farm gave DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. $200 million in startup money. DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd is a 'virtual corporation' with no real presence in Bermuda."

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd

Pushing Rope: State Farm FLA Connection to DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd: "Remember when Gov. Charlie Crist cracked on on State Farm Florida for raising their homeowner premiums too high. State Farm dropped customers and sued the Florida government. It turns out State Farm was far worse than we imagined."

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com: "But the hurricane shield that State Farm Florida buys from State Farm Mutual so exceeds what regulators or rating agencies require that a Florida judge likened the contracts to a 'sham transaction.'

He said it allowed State Farm Mutual to manipulate the books of its Florida subsidiary to achieve whatever result it desired."

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com: "In large part because of the money it pays its parent company, the gap between what Floridians pay State Farm and what they get in return is widening. In 2007, State Farm Florida paid customers 28 cents in loss claims for every dollar in premium it collected. By comparison, State Farm's Texas homeowners in 2007 received 44 cents back on the dollar, and the company's national average was 58 cents."

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com: "In the past four years, State Farm Florida has moved $2 billion out of Florida to its parent company for reinsurance, paying its parent to assume nearly all of its hurricane risk."

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com

Insurance regulators question State Farm's dire claim | HeraldTribune.com: "Over the past decade, State Farm Florida collected $2.6 billion more in premiums than it paid out in claims. State Farm says all that money has been used to pay expenses."

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408: "State Farm is involved with the offshore company DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. Since DaVinci is not based in the Florida it can charged the highest rates. State Farm claims not to own DaVinci. Yet DaVinci has picked up its clients from State Farm and refuses to disclose who is on its board. A Google Map search of DaVinci's Burmurda address reveals it to be located at a yacht club.

The insurance industry isn't hurting in Florida. They are rigging the system to its advantage."

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408: "Wilson fails to mention the 15 percent cost increase homeowners will likely face yearly. Insurance companies claim that they are losing money. Fact: State farm made $2.6 billion profit during the past decade."

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408: "The new law allows insurers to raise rate without the approval of the Florida legislature.

Homeowners will have to pay for their own repairs before insurance companies will offer reimbursements. If you can't pay for your own repairs then insurance companies won't reimbursement.

Homeowners previously were allowed five years to file a claim. The new law shortens the time to three years.

The man who pushed for this legislation is Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce."

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408

Pushing Rope: Rick Scott Signs SB 408: "“On behalf of the constituents I represent, and all homeowners in Florida, I am disappointed that this bad piece of legislation has been signed into law,” Senator Fasano states. “For an administration which vowed not to support new taxes or fees, this bill virtually guarantees a 15% premium “reinsurance” increase for Florida policy holders. This is a backdoor tax and fee increase that will hurt most homeowners with a mortgage, consumers and small business owners at a time with very high foreclosure and unemployment rates, all during a fragile economic recovery.”"

Rick Scott Goes Back to Roots in Visit to State Farm in Winter Haven | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. | Florida Law Firm

Rick Scott Goes Back to Roots in Visit to State Farm in Winter Haven | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. | Florida Law Firm: "In his address Scott joked about his mother, Esther, being featured in an ad and how he spent a lot of money making it."

In his address Scott joked about his mother, Esther, being featured in an ad and how he spent a lot of money making it.

Thompson went on to talk about the challenges facing State Farm, saying the company "was struggling." State Farm officials announced last week they were conducting a review of the company's operations that could result in local layoffs. The company employs 1,400 people in Winter Haven.

"We need politicians in Tallahassee who understand the issues of our business and make decisions about how this business is run," Thompson said.

"This election is very important to all of us, so it's important that we get involved. We need some reform on the property insurance side and we need a governor who's going to have an interest in supporting some necessary reform."

"We've got to get back to where people want to sell insurance in the state," Scott said.

He said his plan calls for working on insurance fraud, sinkhole issues and regulatory reform, "so you can sell State Farm Insurance instead of Citizens Property Insurance," a reference to the state-backed insurance fund.

While State Farm doesn't endorse candidates, it encourages its employees to go to the polls, Neal said.

Rick Scott Goes Back to Roots in Visit to State Farm in Winter Haven | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. | Florida Law Firm

Rick Scott Goes Back to Roots in Visit to State Farm in Winter Haven | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. | Florida Law Firm: "Republican candidate for Governor Rick Scott speaks during the State Farm employees candidate forum, Thursday, October 14, 2010 in Winter Haven, Florida.
He was born in Bloomington, Ill., where the company was founded, he said. All his relatives worked for State Farm, including his mother who was paid 44 cents an hour when she was a high school student during the company's beginnings, he said. His uncle worked for State Farm for more than 30 years, he told the crowd.
He also said the company has to be profitable.

'Insurance has to make a profit or it won't be around,' Scott said. 'I'm running for governor because we've got to get the American dream going again.'

But with the regulations state businesses face, making a profit is difficult, Scott said"

Rick Scott Goes Back to Roots in Visit to State Farm in Winter Haven | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. | Florida Law Firm

Rick Scott Goes Back to Roots in Visit to State Farm in Winter Haven | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. | Florida Law Firm: "RICK SCOTT GOES BACK TO ROOTS IN VISIT TO STATE FARM IN WINTER HAVEN

October 14th, 2010

The article was published in The Ledger on October 14, 2010:



By Merissa Green



http://www.theledger.com/article/20101014/NEWS/10145101/1078/YOURTOWN21?Title=Rick-Scott-Goes-Back-to-Roots-in-Visit-to-State-Farm-in-Winter-Haven



Republican candidate for Governor Rick Scott speaks during the State Farm employees candidate forum, Thursday, October 14, 2010 in Winter Haven, Florida.
He was born in Bloomington, Ill., where the company was founded, he said. All his relatives worked for State Farm, including his mother who was paid 44 cents an hour when she was a high school student during the company's beginnings, he said. His uncle worked for State Farm for more than 30 years, he told the crowd.
He also said the company has to be profitable.

'Insurance has to make a profit or it won't be around,' Scott said. 'I'm running for governor because we've got to get the American dream going again."