[left][color=#000000][font=Verdana,Arial][size=4][color=#cc0000][color=#CC0000]USAA asks to raise homeowner, condo insurance rates by 40 percent[/color][/color][/size][/font][/color][/left] [size=1] [/size] [font=Verdana,Arial][color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Aug. 15, 2006 -- USAA Casualty, which primarily insures military personnel and their families, [b]has asked the state to increase its homeowner and condominium premiums by an average of 40 percent.[/b][/size][/font][/color] [color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]The company made the request Friday to the state Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). USAA insures more than 280,000 people in Florida, according to the OIR.[/size][/font][/color] [color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]USAA and two of Florida's five largest insurers -- State Farm Florida Insurance Co. and Nationwide Insurance Co. of Florida -- have previously asked to raise premiums because of reinsurance. Reinsurance is insurance coverage for insurance companies, to help pay claims after a catastrophe.[/size][/font][/color] [b][color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]State regulators approved State Farm's rate hike last month. USAA received an average 8 percent rate increase earlier this year.[/size][/font][/color][/b] [color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]''Reinsurance plays into the equation, [b]but ([u][i]the new increase is) also looking at anticipated future losses[/i][/u] [/b]and rising construction costs,'' said USAA spokeswoman Lynne McChristian.[/size][/font][/color] [color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]Reinsurance prices skyrocketed and coverage availability shrank after Hurricane Katrina last year, and the market is unlikely to improve soon, said Bob Lotane, a spokesman for Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.[/size][/font][/color] [color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]''That being said, a couple of years of good weather will probably make things a lot brighter,'' Lotane said.[/size][/font][/color] [color=black][font=Verdana,Arial][size=2]Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.[/size][/font][/color] [/font]
