Activist vows to fight insurance rate hikes

By Sarah Shemkus
STAFF WRITER, Cape Cod Times

In 2008, Eastham activist Paula Aschettino plans to take her battle over homeowners insurance rates to the Statehouse, the Division of Insurance and, if need be, directly to the governor's office.

"If we do not find that we get any attention, then we will call our citizens to action and go picket at his doorstep," said Aschettino, founder of Citizens for Homeowners Insurance Reform, a regional activist group she formed a little more than a year ago.

Homeowners coverage first became a concern on the Cape and Islands in 2004, when insurance companies began pulling out of the area, claiming there was an unacceptably high risk of catastrophic storm damages.

As companies fled, thousands of homeowners were forced into the FAIR Plan, the state's insurance program that provides coverage for those unable to obtain coverage on the private market.

At the same time, FAIR Plan premiums were going up. In 2006, rates went up by 25 percent on the Cape and Islands. The agency's request for an additional 25 percent increase is currently pending, although state officials may not make that decision until late January or February.

Aschettino became active in the fight after she was dropped by her insurer and had to find alternative coverage. Watching her fellow Cape residents also struggling, she decided to take action.

Her efforts started in October 2006, with a petition demanding changes in several insurance company practices.

That initial petition was so successful that she formed a grass-roots group to fight for insurance reform.

This year, her organization forced the issue into the spotlight, bringing statewide attention to what had previously been viewed as a Cape Cod problem.

"At the beginning of this year, it wasn't on people's radar screen, at least in Boston," said state Sen. Robert O'Leary, D-Barnstable, an advocate for insurance reform. "That's changed — people are aware of the issue now."

Aschettino and her fellow activists have worked to promote potential solutions throughout the year.

They have organized letter-writing campaigns in opposition to the proposed FAIR Plan rate increase and rallied local residents to testify at hearings held by the Special Commission on Homeowners Insurance, a panel the Legislature created to study the issue.

The group also staged a Boston demonstration in front of the annual meeting of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, in an attempt to raise awareness among insurance companies about the Cape and Islands' plight.

"I am pleased with what was accomplished in one year," Aschettino said recently. "I feel enthusiastic."

Heading into the new year, her top priority is educating both consumers and lawmakers.
She also hopes to hold public outreach forums to update residents about the ongoing FAIR Plan rate increase struggle and the report issued last month by the special commission.

Most of the 4,000 current members of her group are from the southeastern part of the state; she hopes to add homeowners from the Boston area and the North and South shores.
"That's going to give us more voice," Aschettino said.

Though she has already made significant progress in promoting her cause, Aschettino sees a lot more work left to be done in 2008.

"They are going to hear from us frequently, and see us in the Statehouse," she said. "I think we are going to be very powerful this year, more so than we have been."