On march 4, 2010, the Sarasota Herald Tribune published Steve Pociask’s op-ed “State’s Insurer of Last Resort Calls To Mind A House of Cards.”   To read the article, click here.
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WASHINGTON – The American Consumer Institute (ACI) announced today that it is placing a strong focus on statewide issues in Florida for 2010.  The organization’s announcement comes after substantial review of a variety of state issues that affect the majority of Florida’s consumers, including property insurance and telecommunications.

 
ACI’s Center for Citizen Research has established a Florida-focused [...]

By STEVE POCIASK
Special To The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 3, 2010
If an insurance company sold you a homeowner’s policy knowing that, if disaster was to strike, it probably couldn’t pay your claim, you would call that “consumer fraud” - plain and simple. If private insurance companies were to instigate such a scam, the insurance commissioner would [...]

By Patricia Born

Despite this year’s calm hurricane season, the past decade of disastrous storms has made it more difficult for many homeowners to find affordable insurance. Not surprisingly, they blame the insurance companies. It’s not that simple ….
To read the full article, click here. 

(Originally published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, News-Journal, November 19, 2009) 
 
 
 

Consumers oppose the current Healthcare legislation by a two-to-one margin.  In a nationwide survey conducted by the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI), 48% of Americans oppose the bill, while 24% support it. 
 
The survey results also find that 90% of consumers believe that they should make their own decisions about healthcare coverage, [...]

The Public Option is Here for Property Insurance
 
When someone knowingly sells property insurance, but has no financial backing to pay insurance claims, it is fraud.  But when state insurance commissioners, like those in Florida and most recently in Texas, encourage insolvent insurance operations, it is just politics, and taxpayers and consumers are left to pay the difference. 
 
A couple of [...]

To read ACI’s latest news article on CNBC.com, visit http://www.cnbc.com:80/id/34481358
To read our recent retail electronics study, visit: http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2009/11/10/american-consumer-institute-releases-study-finding-no-difference-in-consumer-electronics-prices-between-wal-mart-and-best-buy-study-calls-for-wal-mart-to-improve-on-shelf-labeling-to-ensure-shoppers/

On December 3, 2009, ACI Experts Dr. Larry F. Darby and Dr. Joseph Fuhr, Jr. discuss the effects of hidden credit card fees on consumers and retail merchants.  Click here to here the entire audio. call-audio1

You can view the letter here

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Texas Insurance Commissioner Votes for Public Option:
Consumers Pay More and Get Nothing in Return

Washington DC, October 19, 2009 –– The following is a statement by Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute:
The American Consumer Institute is very disappointed by Commissioner Geeslin’s decision to disapprove the rate filing recommended by the government-established and [...]