Florida's insurance regulators are demanding answers from insurers on why the rate decreases promised to homeowners on their property insurance haven't materialized.

The Office of Insurance Regulation issued subpoenas for the Allstate insurance companies operating in Florida, focusing on documents related to reinsurance activity and communications with modeling firms, rating agencies and trade associations.

OIR also issued a second set of subpoenas to Cincinnati Insurance and Cincinnati Indemnity, as the state continues to expand its investigation to see if there was any possible collusion among insurers to bypass a new insurance law that required rate reductions.

Calling the insurance industry ''greedy'' and ''tenacious,'' Gov. Charlie Crist said at a press conference in Tallahassee Tuesday that the state has ``significant reason to believe that some insurance companies are violating Florida law.''

Crist was referring to the insurance reform bill passed during the January special session that expanded the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to allow insurers to buy additional back-up insurance at a lower price than in the private reinsurance market.

The trade-off: Insurers were required by the law, as Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said at the news conference, to pass on the savings to policyholders in the form of lower rates on their policies this year.

''We will hold this industry's feet to the fire,'' Crist said. ``Instead of adhering to the spirit of the law, we have seen continued attempts at rate hikes.''

ALLSTATE'S HIKE

Last month, Allstate Floridian filed for an average 41.9 percent rate hike; Allstate Florida Indemnity asked for a 28.3 percent increase.

The Allstate companies in Florida, part of the largest publicly traded U.S. insurer, have to respond by early January. A public hearing has been set for Jan. 15 in Tallahassee to review the material OIR received and to question Allstate executives.

Cincinnati Insurance and Cincinnati Indemnity petitioned a Leon County Circuit Court to limit the scope of OIR's investigation as part of the agency's review of a rate filing where the companies requested an average 37.5 percent hike statewide. But the court sided with regulators.

Tom Zutell, an OIR spokesman, said the Cincinnati companies have been complying with the initial subpoena despite their attempt to block it. It was some of the initial information turned over by the companies that prompted OIR to subpoena more documents.

However, a hearing planned to go over the Cincinnati firms' filing has been canceled as regulators await the additional information.

STATE FARM

Despite a settlement on rate decreases, OIR continues to investigate State Farm, and the company is still complying with subpoenas for documents. State Farm has initially filed a 7 percent rate cut, based on its reinsurance purchase from the CAT Fund.

But regulators said it was too small and rejected it. State Farm agreed to lower its homeowners rates by

9 percent statewide.

McCarty and Crist noted that they are most concerned with how some of the national insurers that write homeowners coverage in Florida adhered to the requirements of the new insurance law.

McCarty said many Florida-based insurers, often smaller, newer companies, did drop their homeowner rates after they bought reinsurance from the CAT Fund. He said the average decrease, based on the filings received so far, is 14.8 percent.

Regulators had anticipated an average decline of about 24 percent, based on private analysis done for the state by two prominent insurance experts.

In a statement, Allstate said: ``We are committed to customers and must remain financially solvent to meet the promise we have made to them.''

The company said it will comply with the subpoenas.

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