A View From The Press Box

Muhammad Ali took the heavyweight championship from George Foreman with his "Rope-A-Dope" strategy, covering up and absorbing a ton of punishment to make his opponent arm-weary, leaving Ali free to retaliate at will. However, when insurers pull a "Rope-A-Dope," their attackers never tire, and carriers never really fight back--they just absorb their beating in silence. That's what happened after homeowners insurers got hammered by the devastating cover story in this month's "Bloomberg Markets" magazine, headlined, "The Insurance Hoax."

When I started this blog one year ago today, I had no idea what I was in for. It's certainly a lot of work, but it's also been one of the most satisfying experiences of my journalistic career--mostly because of the enthusiastic support and feedback from you, NU's readers!

Talk about piling on! Right after the cover story in "Bloomberg Markets" (headlined "Insurance Hoax") that I cited this week, "The New York Times" followed up on Labor Day with another devastating front page article, "Insurers Bear Brunt Of Anger in New Orleans." Read it and weep.

It's not all bad news on the insurance front in the mass media. For one, I was pleasantly surprised to see an intelligent story about catastrophe futures gracing the cover of "The New York Times" magazine on Aug. 26, headlined: "In Nature's Casino." The piece focused on the efforts of one individual to figure out a way for the financial markets to profitably take on some of the risk of natural disasters. Can cat bonds make a big difference in today's disaster-shy insurance market?

Here on Sept. 11, the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack that supposedly altered America forever, some things never change. Washington remains shortsighted, as well as penny wise and pound foolish, as the latest developments in the debate over whether to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act demonstrates.

In response to our latest "Question of Ethics," readers weighed in on the ethical implications of doing business in states where claimants seem to be able to "profit" from their losses--getting more cash from their insurer than they actually suffered in monetary damages. Read on to find out what your fellow NU readers had to say on the subject, as culled by our ethics columnist, Peter R. Kensicki, and feel free to add more comments on this blog!

NU Assistant Managing Editor Caroline McDonald is in Monte Carlo this week, gathering the latest news from the annual Reinsurance Rendezvous. You can check out her news coverage online on Friday. However, she also posted a side note about how SCOR is creating buzz with some unusual billboard advertising (one sample shown here). Click on to read more.

Litigation and policy debates among state and federal lawmakers have exploded over the controversial anti-concurrent-causation clauses in homeowners policies--which deny coverage for most, if not all windstorm losses when excluded flood-related damage is also involved. Consumer advocates call the clause confusing at best, and at worst a “trap door” to deny insureds their legitimate coverage. Click on to see some of the ethical questions we raise for readers, and feel free to respond--either directly to this blog, or to our ethics columnist.

Just when you think Marsh might be getting its act together in its quest to overcome the fallout from bid-rigging and contingency fee abuse scandals, its CEO, Brian Storms, suddenly takes a hike or is kicked out the door. For the embattled behemoth, it's back to square one.

There I was, being driven in a plush limo from the airport to the exclusive Boca Raton Resort & Club, invited to make a speech on the industry's image and its impact on the bottom line before a group of insurance company financial types, when the driver, after asking why I was in town, went on to pour his heart out about how the cost of insurance is ruining his life.

It’s easy to sell risk management in a hard market. But when premiums start to plummet and capacity is plentiful, it takes a truly dedicated, disciplined and even courageous independent agency to walk away from prospects who only want quotes for the lowest price, and don’t share a commitment to loss control, safety and lowering the overall cost of risk. Such fortitude is largely what set this year’s finalists apart from the pack in the sixth annual National Underwriter Commercial Insurance Agency of the Year award program.

There was some grumbling during the recent meeting I attended of the Society Of Insurance Financial Management about whether or not the industry is making too much, or too little money! It depends on your point of view, I suppose...or does it? Read on and tell me what you think.

When I suggested during a recent speech on how to improve the industry's lousy image that insurers make use of their army of employees as good-will ambassadors, I was pigeonholed afterwards by a few very nervous executives who complained that their legal departments would never allow such an initiative to be launched. If that's true, the industry is cutting off its nose to spite its face.

All things considered, Harry and Louise--that folksy, fictional, middle-class couple that helped kill First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's healthcare reform proposals back in the mid-90s--might very well vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton this time around in her quest for the White House.