Has Your Business Seen an Increase in Insurance Premiums?

Businesses which have seen their property or liability insurance premiums increase over the past few years even though their operations have not significantly changed may be entitled to compensation. Allegedly, certain insurance companies have been illegally raising rates for property and/or liability insurance on companies they insure.

If you are a business that has had a rate increase without any corresponding change in operations, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Requirements of Property and Casualty Insurers

Most property and casualty insurers are required to file rules, also known as rating plans, and rates, which cannot be excessive or otherwise violate state laws. As part of these rating plans, insurers file “schedule rating plans” as a method of adjusting the normal premium applied to a risk to account for readily identifiable factors which influence the probability or severity of future losses and other risk factors not accounted for by other rating adjustments. States require that insurers file the criteria they will use for these plans. It has been alleged, however, that some insurers will violate state statutes and raise prices by improperly debiting risks or reducing credits, with no change in operations or exposures. These violations can span several years and are rarely caught by state regulators.

Class Action Lawsuit

Any business, including those in the retail, service, manufacturing and contracting industry, who were charged an increased premium for the property or liability insurance, even though there were no changes in operations may have legal recourse. Potentially, these individuals were may be able to file a collective claim in court to recover the compensation that was taken from through the allegedly excessive insurance premiums.

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