Georgia Insurance Commissioner Argues That Geico Carries Too Much Weight

Before the Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens took over the reins of the Georgia Department of Insurance, he was responsible for the cancellation of hundreds of policies. The cancellations occurred due to inadequate underwriting and rate quotes that were in error. If these mistakes had been corrected, the state could have increased its amount of insuring customers. This is what happened under Mr. Hudgens' leadership.

The insurance industry in Georgia is one of the most competitive industries in the country. Because of this competition, policy holders are offered a variety of rates. Unfortunately, the competition also drove up the rates in recent years. Because of the high level of competition, policy holders can get better rates than they could ten years ago. That is why the insurance commissioner has repeatedly stressed the need for stability in the insurance industry.

As far as stability is concerned, Mr. Hudgens believes that one way to foster stability is to implement rate increases gradually. In order to do this, he requires new agents to enroll in a three-month training program. During this time, they will be taught all the basics of the company's underwriting processes and how they affect the company's risk management process. They will learn about risk adjustment and how it affects the company's profit margins. Finally, the company will be instructed on how to increase its knowledge of market trends and how this affects its underwriting.

After the training is complete, the newly-trained agents will go out and find out as much as they can about the company. They will talk with current and former clients to gain an understanding of what has worked and what has not. This information will help them develop new ways to serve the customers better. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the company's profitability.

It's not just the profitability that the Insurance Commissioner is concerned about. Many insurance companies in Georgia are experiencing financial difficulty. The low housing and health care costs are eating away at profits. If the insurance industry were to suffer a huge decline, the companies would suffer too.

To prevent the company from going under, Mr. Hudgens has put together a plan to keep the company viable. First, he has proposed a new rate structure. This would increase rates for certain policies but offer lower premiums for the majority of policies. The idea is to spread the burden across the board so that the companies don't feel the brunt.

Second, he has proposed an incentive program. The incentive would come in the form of giving bonuses to agents who will be able to increase the number of policies that they write. Again, the idea is to spread the burden across the board so that the companies don't feel the brunt.

Currently, there are three different companies created by Ralph Hudgens. All of them are based out of Atlanta, Georgia. One, called Geico, is well known nationally. The other two are Infinity or Liberty Mutual and Humana. All of these companies have had trouble in the past with their finances, and now with the economy the way it is, all of these companies could use some help turning things around.

If you take a look at the annual reports that are filed by the company, you can see many signs of problems. For one, Geico is losing money hand over fist. They recently announced that they would be filing for bankruptcy. They were only profitable a few years ago.

Now, Liberty Mutual is trying to pick up the pieces after they too filed for bankruptcy a few years back. Meanwhile, Infinity is struggling with high debt, as well. All this leaves the consumer to wonder how much these companies will be able to withstand. The Georgia Insurance Commissioner has suggested that there may be some changes to the law. For instance, the minimum amount of coverage that each policy should provide may increase.

The Georgia Insurance Commission has taken a big stance on this debate. The Department of Insurance has actually suggested that the state draft a bill that would require all auto and homeowners insurance companies to sell at least the same basic policy to everyone. This would, in essence, force all companies to compete for your business, thus, resulting in lower prices for you and lower costs to the insurance company.