McCarty said the companies' filings haven't shown that home and commercial rate increases are actuarially justified. He also said they don't give customers enough savings under a new state law that requires companies to get cheaper backup insurance through the state Catastrophe Fund and pass the savings on to policyholders.
Several Hartford companies requested homeowners rate increases just under 30 percent, according to material filed with the state. The company's subsidiaries cover more than 100,000 residential policies around the state, Office of Insurance Regulation officials said.
''I am committed to ensuring that insurance companies doing business in Florida are offering policyholders the best rates possible,'' McCarty said. "The rates proposed by The Hartford are not in line with this objective.''
In addition to homeowners rate increases, the state also plans to deny requested increases by Hartford companies for multiple peril business policies. Some business customers would have seen rate increases of more than 200 percent under those filings.
''The office's indications were that the data submitted by Hartford were insufficient to support their rates that they had initially requested,'' OIR spokesman Jonathan Kees said. ``Of course, the lines of communication are still open with the company and we would expect any amendments to be reviewed as well.''
Hartford spokeswoman Debora Raymond said the company believed it was complying with the new state law in giving customers all the savings it is getting from buying cheaper reinsurance from the state.
''We are currently reviewing the department's response to our filing and determining our next steps,'' Raymond said. ``We believe that our proposed changes are actuarially justified. The filings we submitted pass on to consumers all of the savings from the . . . legislation.''