A View From The Press Box

At last night's Democratic debate, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spent a big chunk of time laying out the party's biggest policy goal--establishing universal health insurance. But that was just days after an ambitious, bi-partisan reform program died in the California Senate--an ominous sign for the concept's supporters.

Critics keep hammering property-casualty insurers for making too much money, yet their profits pale in comparison to Big Oil. Exxon Mobil alone reported a record $40.6 billion in net income last year, compared to $49.4 billion for the entire p-c industry combined through three-quarters. What gives?

In this, my 300th blog posting, let me thank all of you for generating record readership activity last month. My blog topped 10,000 unique visitors (10,618, to be exact) and 50,000 page views (actually, 56,235) for the first time in January. Readership growth has been strong and steady--quite a rise from the 2,289 unique visitors and a little over 12,000 page views posted after the first few months at the end of 2006. Also, those who do visit my blog tend to stick around for awhile--about 22 minutes, on average. I very much appreciate all of your support and your lively reactions to my postings. Keep it coming!

It was the most agonizing Election Day decision since I began voting (for Jimmy Carter) in 1976. I literally went back and forth not just every day, but hourly, as the moment of reckoning loomed. I read volumes of columns analyzing the candidates, watched the debates and queried friends on both sides for guidance. But in the end, in New York's Democratic primary, I voted for Barack Obama. Read on to see why, and feel free to weigh in with your take on the campaign.

In a way, it's a shame Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race so soon, as he was the candidate who could speak with the most authority about the realities facing any president trying to establish universal health insurance. The former governor has first-hand experience with that overwhelming economic challenge, as well as the political scars to prove it. In fact, he even has some good ideas for an alternative to a national program.

When push comes to shove this November, could Sen. John McCain's opposition to the creation of a national catastrophe fund to back up state property insurance facilities cost him the White House? I believe it could, if enough Floridians care enough to let the Arizona Republican's position swing their vote to a more supportive Democratic candidate.

Do property insurers have an “inherent conflict of interest” when adjusting wind-versus-water damage claims following hurricanes? Sure they do. But the bigger question is, what should Congress do about it?

Is it possible that the property-casualty insurance market isn't softening as dramatically as some surveys indicate? That's the question raised because of conflicting reports of pricing activity, with agent-generated surveys showing far deeper drops than one relying on carrier-provided data, which only indicates a single-digit decline. Who is right?

As if the insurance industry didn't have a bad enough image problem, the potential fallout should bond insurers lose their Triple-A rating due to boneheaded acceptance of subprime exposures has prompted devastating headlines and a new round of questions about whether carriers are adequately regulated--including calls for Uncle Sam to come to the rescue.

I'm very sad to report that Tom Maher--my dear friend, mentor and former NU managing editor--passed away on Feb. 13 at the age of 77. I took over Tom's position in 1986 when he left to pursue a second career as a freelance writer and marketing consultant. I would never have been promoted without Tom’s support and mentoring, and we remained close friends for over 26 years, swapping stories about baseball and insurance with equal enthusiasm. Read on to learn more about this remarkable person, and feel free to join other friends and former colleagues in reminiscing in the comment section below.

The captive community was positively giddy with today's news that the Internal Revenue Service had second thoughts about withdrawing the critical deduction such entities enjoy on reserves for insurance sold to affiliated clients, and rightfully so. After all, it was their intense lobbying and aggressive feedback that persuaded the IRS to back off rather than risk driving the thriving U.S. captive industry offshore.

They say the more things change, the more they remain the same. That certainly holds true for insurance. Looking over bound volumes of NU from 1985 (for a good laugh, note my column sketch from back then), seeking background for my column on our former managing editor, Tom Maher, I read our coverage of regulation, tort reform and health care costs in stories that could be reprinted today, with few noticing they were actually 23 years old!

It’s time once again for independent agencies that do an outstanding job selling insurance and providing risk management services to prepare their entries for the National Underwriter “Commercial Insurance Agency Of The Year” award. Click on for details, either if you choose to enter your own agency, or nominate an agency you work with.

The courts dealt the insurance industry two huge blows in the past few days, with brokers and top carrier executives convicted in separate trials--one having to do with bid-rigging, the other with cooking the books via a sham finite reinsurance deal. Any way you look at it, the reputation of the business for honesty and integrity took a real beating, and the feds might yet have bigger fish to fry.

State lawmakers finally took off the gloves this week and joined forces to fight those who believe the federal government would be a better regulator of carriers and brokers than local insurance commissioners, and that industry players should at least have the option to pick their poison and go with a federal charter.

Horror stories are a staple of those who believe that universal health insurance, with strict parameters set up by the federal government, is the answer not only for the tens of millions with no coverage, but even for those fortunate enough to have a policy, yet who too often find themselves left up the creek by outrageous carrier misconduct. Exhibit A is the case of Patsy Bates, whose health insurer dumped her during breast cancer treatments, and who paid the price last month.