A View From The Press Box

Even though Al Gore has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the debate over whether man-made pollution is responsible for global warming and the Earth's eventual self-destruction is far from settled. But that doesn't mean property insurers shouldn't be moving aggressively to offset the potential risks of climate change, no matter what the cause, according to a panel of experts at this week's Property Casualty Insurers Association of America annual conference.

Gary Wolcott, director of communications at the PIA Western Alliance, last week reported on my Oct. 31 "Meet The Press" blog entry in his association's newsletter. Along with noting my musings following the PCI annual conference in talking about the industry's poor image and how to improve it, he added a few keen insights from his own experience.

Controversies over disputed hurricane and flood claims, credit scoring, federal regulation and the industry’s profitability will be among the hot topics debated next week by two heavyweights—Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, and J. Robert Hunter, insurance director of the Consumer Federation of America—in “The Battle Of The Bobs,” just one of seven sessions in the National Underwriter Company’s first “Virtual Conference & Expo,” Nov. 14 and 15. If you haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for???

Independent agent groups, both local and national, are responding in public with restraint, but in private are no doubt upset and scared after hearing that the New York Insurance Department intends to require every retail broker to disclose to clients the value of all compensation deals with insurers. I think it's about time.

Isn't it ironic that the day after I post an entry on broker fee disclosure, Marsh comes out with plans for a new compensation scheme to offset the billion dollar loss they suffered by swearing off contingency fees to settle bid-rigging charges? Will it pass muster with buyers? And how long will Michael Cherkasky be able to hang on as president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies given his own startling admission of leadership failures?

Like the proverbial skunk at a garden party, I spoiled a perfectly civil panel discussion among three mega-brokers on "leveraging innovation as a market differentiator" by asking what innovations were ahead to replace the billions their firms surrendered in contingency fees to settle bid-rigging allegations. Their responses showed there are indeed still hard feelings on the subject.

Did you ever wish you could be a fly on the wall at a meeting of major insurance company CEOs? For those interested in hearing some of the most provocative comments issued at last week's NU Property-Casualty Executive Conference, read on, and feel free to speak out on any of the controversial issues they addressed.

National Underwriter launches its first “Virtual Conference & Expo” on Wednesday, Nov. 14, with a session on enterprise risk management, featuring the authors of “Enterprise Risk Management For Dummies”--the first of four sessions on the day. Also included will be a panel in which the three finalists in NU's inaugural "Award For Excellence In Workers' Comp Risk Management" will share the secrets of their success. Registration is free. (Thursday's session features "The Battle Of The Bobs"--the debate between Bob Hartwig and Bob Hunter.) Click on for more details.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer finally raised the white flag today on his controversial plan to allow undocumented aliens to get a driver's license, which he had argued would not only have made the roads safer, but have lowered insurance costs as well. The knee jerk hostility against immigration in general overwhelmed any intelligent discussion of his claim that there would be fewer uninsured drivers--a debatable point about which insurers were silent.

A pair of heavyweight champions——Insurance Information Institute President Robert P. Hartwig and Consumer Federation of America Insurance Director J. Robert Hunter—battled over Hurricane Katrina claims, insurer profitability, federal terrorism reinsurance and other hot controversies in a five-round online debate, the main event in the National Underwriter Company’s first virtual conference. Read on for the blow by blow description, and weigh in with your own ringside commentary.

When a live-action movie about Mr. Magoo was released with Leslie Nielson of "Naked Gun" fame playing the painfully nearsighted, accident-prone cartoon character in the late 1990s, groups representing the blind protested and secured some disclaimers from the producers at the end of the film. Will auto insurers fare any better if they take steps to respond to the exploding number of elderly drivers hitting the road?

If you think dealing with older insureds will be tough for auto insurers as reflexes, sight and hearing fail elderly drivers, imagine what challenges await workers' compensation carriers as the Baby Boom generation goes bust! The only consolation for underwriters might be that they are not alone. Unlike with coverage for individual drivers, insurers get to share the responsibility for limiting the hazards facing our exploding senior population with risk managers.

I first heard the fascinating backstory of Alex Soto--who recently concluded his term as president of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America--from a DVD he gave me of his "Black Bean Soup" speech about his boyhood in Cuba, his family's escape to Florida after Fidel Castro seized power, and his longing these past 47 years to return home someday on his own terms. His story resonated with me--the son of a man who as a teenager had fled the Nazis in Poland to start a new life in New York. I offered my editing skills to help craft a personal essay out of his speech, which I would still like to see published in the consumer media. In the spirit of the season, I present here a slightly shorter version of his moving story, to remind us to give thanks for the blessings we enjoy living in a free country.

Property-casualty insurance groups offered gracious farewells following the news that Sen. Trent Lott would be leaving Congress before year's end. But most industry lobbyists no doubt were breathing a sigh of relief, given the animosity the Mississippi Republican displayed after complaining about how he and his constituents were left out to dry on Hurricane Katrina homeowners claims.

Rep. Barney Frank threw down the gauntlet last month on extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, insisting that he would not be bullied by the U.S. Senate into abandoning his broader vision for the program and swallowing the more limited Senate bill at the 11th hour. But with the federal reinsurance backstop set to expire Dec. 31, the Senate showing no signs of caving in and a White House veto threat looming, will Barney blink rather than let TRIA pass into oblivion? I think he must and he will.

For insurers, the news is almost too good to be true! Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, scourge of the industry, the moving force behind a stampede of lawsuits over wind vs. water damage in Hurricane Katrina, was indicted yesterday on federal bribery charges.