"They're trying to define the scope of our investigation," Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty says. "Clearly that is not something the company is at liberty to do."

McCarty says Allstate refuses to comply with a subpeoana aimed at answering if the insurer is colluding with other companies to keep insurance costs high.

Florida's insurance industry denies those claims, and argues the state's hurricane risk is responsible for rising prices.

"They're going to have to articulate that they support all those documents and continue to make all documents freely available," McCarty said.

The suspension means Allstate cannot write any new auto policies, and likely means other coverage policies including renters' and homeowners' insurance are also off limits.

"Floridians across the state have suffered due to the high cost of insurance," Governor Charlie Crist said in a written statement."

The Governor has been critical of Allstate in the past, calling for Floridians to "fire" the insurance company.