Twin City leaders are calling for better dialogue between lawmakers, Gov. JB Pritzker, and insurance companies such as Bloomington-based State Farm.
Pritzker has proposed increasing regulation to respond to steep rate hike across the insurance industry. That could require regulatory approval for rate increases. Illinois is one of the least regulated states in the nation for the insurance sector.
Patrick Hoban, head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council [EDC], last week expressed some alarm about the prospect of such regulation and its potential impact on employment and the economic base.
"Some of this needs to settle down because what that will do to our community is unheard of. It's not to scare everybody, but they at least are talking. But the concept that one industry makes up a third of our economy is terrifying. A quarter of all jobs rely on insurance," said Hoban at an EDC presentation on the housing market.
Hoban said when he first took the job some years ago, he asked State Farm why the company remained in Bloomington- Normal when it could be anywhere.
"They said Illinois has the best regulatory environment for insurance headquarters. They said as long as they don't mess with that, this will always be home. Well, they're messing with it," said Hoban.
He’s asking regulators to “please calm down.”
"I told them, you want to fix our housing problem, you're about ready to do it. Keep messing around," said Hoban, implying employment would suffer if some of the proposed legislation becomes law.
Normal Mayor Chris Koos thinks there needs to be stronger dialogue between state government and the insurance industry, so each side understands what the issues are.
“What the state is trying to do, and what the insurance industry feels is detrimental to their profitability and their ability to deliver service in the state of Illinois," he said. "That's the basis of most laws that happen. Are there unintended consequences in the laws that are being presented? And if so, are we having the dialogue with the people that it affects."
He seconded Hoban’s concern that State Farm and Country Financial are a big part of the community and said he is concerned about their well-being.
