Latest news with #IslamParkes
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GA lawmaker asks for investigation to see if major insurance companies are hiding profits
A Georgia state Senator is asking for the state's Insurance Commissioner to investigate whether major insurance companies are using affiliate companies they own to hide profits. State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes sent a letter to Insurance Commissioner John King asking that his 'office undertake a comprehensive investigation into Georgia's insurance market.' 'Working families cannot continue to afford rising premiums, and we need to find out what the real cause of these rising premiums are, and whether or not it's because insurance companies are running a shell game,' Islam Parkes told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray. The letter comes after the release this month in the state of Florida of an analysis ordered by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation back in 2022. The report examined the relationship between many insurance companies in Florida and affiliate companies they own and use to provide everything from accounting and underwriting to claims investigation. TRENDING STORIES: Gwinnett 16-year-old missing for over 1 year found safe Fani Willis, Fulton DA's office given 30 days to pay $54K for open records act violations Metro Atlanta teen accepted to 58 colleges, earning $1 million in scholarships Republicans and Democrats last week in a Florida House of Representatives hearing expressed concerns about the findings that indicated that insurance companies in Florida may be using those affiliates to hide profits as they raise rates. 'Our purpose today is to find out if insurance companies have been allegedly ripping us off ripping the citizens of Florida off,' said Florida Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso. The Florida report found that while the insurance companies they examined claimed losses of $432 million, their affiliate companies made $1.8 billion in income. 'I think we'd be fools to think similar practices aren't happening in the state of Georgia,' Islam Parkes said. In his response letter, King said his office regulates those agreements between insurance companies and their affiliates and that the 'review of these agreements is performed on a case-by-case basis to determine what is 'fair and reasonable.'' In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, King's office says affiliate agreements in Georgia require prior approval by the Insurance Commissioner before going into effect and require regular review. The statement also said Georgia's market is different than Florida's, with fewer affiliate companies. 'Florida's insurance market presents unique challenges which are not prevalent in Georgia. Specifically, due to the prevalence of intense natural disasters in the state, many if not most of the larger insurers seek to form a state-specific insurer in Florida. In the Georgia property marketplace, most larger insurers operate under the national corporate structure, with premiums paid directly to the national insurer, rather than through that of a subsidiary and then through to the parent insurer,' an Insurance Commissioner spokesperson wrote. Rising insurance costs in Georgia are one of the main reasons Gov. Brian Kemp has cited for pushing for tort reform this legislative session. 'As a small business owner for 40 years now, I've seen it in my own escalating insurance costs. Insurers that are pulling out of the marketplace so that people can't have access to insurance even if they have the ability to pay for it. So, we are simply trying to stabilize the market,' Kemp said. But Islam Parkes counters there should be more data about those insurance companies' fee structures before any laws are changed. 'What are the reasons that auto insurance, homeowners' insurance is going up? We need to make sure that these insurance companies are not taking advantage of Georgians,' Islam Parkes said.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia lawmakers discuss proposal to display Ten Commandments in public schools
A north Georgia lawmaker wants to require every public school in Georgia to display the Ten Commandments, in three separate locations at each school. Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was at the State Capitol with how some Democratic lawmakers say the proposal violates the separation of church and state. The bill's sponsor says school kids need the example of the Ten Commandments in their lives, while the bill's opponents say they respect the lawmaker's faith but think the bill is inappropriate. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'Our country was founded on biblical Christian values,' Rep. Emory Dunahoo (R-Gillsville) said. The Republican lawmaker said he's tired of seeing what he calls a moral decay inside the state's public schools. That's why he wrote a bill that would require schools to have the Ten Commandments in three places around the building, at the main entrance, the entrance to the school library and the entrance to the school cafeteria. TRENDING STORIES: GA lawmakers file bill to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools After Young Thug trial, Georgia lawmakers introduce bill to limit use of lyrics, art in court cases Lawmakers propose adding pets to Georgia family, dating violence protective orders Dunahoo said that given the recent trouble at schools around Georgia, including the shooting at Apalachee High School in September by 14-year-old Colt Gray that left four dead and nine injured, he thinks students need the Commandments' example. 'Every day in our schools, we're having shootings, having drugs, we're having all types of stuff here,' Dunahoo said. 'To me, it's just a moral value of people at home, do not see good things in their lives and can come here and they can build a foundation.' However, those pushing back against the bill think it's the wrong direction. 'I believe that this bill is inappropriate,' State Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes (D-Duluth) said. Islam Parkes is just one of a handful of Muslim lawmakers in the Georgia General Assembly. She says she's 100% for the freedom of religion and supports religious studies, but thinks Dunahoo's proposal is a clear violation of the separation of church and state, and nothing more than political posturing. 'I just think the bill is a distraction,' Islam Parkes said. 'There's so much more that we could be doing.' She said those other things include expanding Medicaid in Georgia and providing more funding to the education system. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
