ORDERS:
CONSENT ORDER
1. On February 3, 1999, Philip S. Porter, Consumer Advocate for the State of South Carolina (the Consumer Advocate) requested the South Carolina Department of Insurance (the Department), to initiate a public hearing on the filing of Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) requesting an approval of an overall increase of 6.3% in its dwelling property pure loss component.
2. On February 5, 1999, the Department filed with the Administrative Law Judge Division an Agency Transmittal Form requesting a public hearing.
3. The Administrative Law Judge Division assigned this matter to the Honorable John D. Geathers under the Docket No. 99-ALJ-09-0080-CC.
4. Meanwhile, the Consumer Advocate and ISO engaged in discussions with respect to this filing and came to the following agreement:
While ISO does not necessarily agree that it is actuarilly optimal or appropriate, it has now amended its filing to reflect an increase of +0.2% for dwelling fire and 12.5% for Extended Coverage, bringing the overall rate request for +4.7%. This amendment reflects the Consumer Advocate's concern that the filing initially contained hurricane provision for Loss Adjustment Expense (LAE) of 9.5%. The Consumer Advocate argued that when natural disasters strike, the cost of adjustment drops due to economies of both scale and concentration of damage. Instead, the Consumer Advocate proposed and ISO adopted LAE factor of 8.5%. The amended filing also eliminates tempering the rates of change in the amount of insurance, as initially contained on pages C-9 and C-13.
5. The Respondent, South Carolina Department of Insurance, in its Prehearing Statement of March 5,1999, stated that it had no opposition to the filing. Since there are no unresolved issues remaining, all parties agree to the dismissal of this matter.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that this case is dismissed, and
IT IS SO ORDERED.
JOHN D. GEATHERS
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
April 9, 1999
Columbia, South Carolina
WE CONSENT:
William C. Wood, Jr., Esquire
Counsel for Insurance Services Office, Inc.
Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough
P.O. Box 11070
Columbia, SC 29211
T. Douglas Concannon, Esquire Hana Pokorna-Williamson, Esquire
Associate General Counsel Staff Attorney
South Carolina Department of Insurance South Carolina Department of
Post Office Box 100105 Consumer Affairs
Columbia, SC 29202-3105 P.O. Box 5757
Columbia SC 29250-5757 |
