Property Casualty Insurers Association of America: Allow the New PIP Law Adequate Time to Take Effect to Achieve its Full Potential

Donovan Brown, state government relations counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI),  recently issued a statement in response to the Office of Insurance Regulation’s (OIR) recent analysis of the Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc. impact report on Florida’s new PIP law.

In the statement Brown emphasizes patience with the expected results of the new law.

PCI has ongoing concerns with the study’s conclusions and the fact that they are based on a law which does not fully take effect until next year. Although we commend Pinnacle for its diligent and thorough work, the study cannot anticipate changes to Florida’s legal, social or economic environment which will directly influence the impact of the new PIP law. The study also cannot calculate the scope of detrimental challenges to the new PIP law that will be filed by plaintiffs’ attorneys or the manner and extent to which corrupt providers will attempt to game the system. In addition, we note that the study cannot foresee the overall impact the PIP law may have on the Bodily Injury and Uninsured Motorist portions of drivers’ auto policies.

Therefore, in order for the new PIP law to achieve its potential, PCI encourages policymakers, regulators and Florida drivers to allow the law adequate time to take effect. PCI also urges policymakers to protect the law from any distortion that will negatively impact its ability to deter fraud and abuse in the PIP system. As with any comprehensive legislative package, there will be implementation processes and other issues that must be addressed in order for the PIP law to attempt to stabilize our auto insurance market.

The full press release is available here.