State insurance regulation is a good thing for many reasons, but for just as many, it isn’t. On the plus side, insurance really is a local transaction for some lines because state laws differ. Therefore, regulating the business for those lines belongs with the states.  Read Story

You would be forgiven if you have never heard of the National Fraternal Congress of America, even though it has been around since 1886. I had, but only because back in the 1990s, a colleague went to work there. Despite the fact that at that point I had been in the business for I won’t say how many years, he had to explain to me what it was: the trade association for fraternal benefit societies.  Read Story

If you’re an insurance agency CEO, I have a New Year’s resolution for you that should be at the top of your list: visit your public officials.  Read Story

Included in President Obama’s nearly 200-page 2011 budget is a proposal often called “the reinsurance tax.” The proposal would eliminate the current tax deduction for excess premiums paid by insurers to offshore reinsurance affiliates. The move to eliminate this deduction is not new—it has been around for at least ten years. President Obama used the issue in his campaign, criticizing Sen. John McCain for wanting to “protect tax breaks for American corporations that hide their profits offshore.” But like any tax increase, someone has to pay it—in this case, property owners in catastrophe-prone states.  Read Story

Autumn is upon us once again with all the signs of the season that we know and love—the evenings are getting cooler, the kids are back in school, and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will soon expire. This year may mark a banner year for the NFIP—if Congress fails to extend the program by its expiration date of September 30, the program will expire for the fourth time this year.  Read Story

The trade and mainstream press will soon be filled with articles commenting on the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina—the largest insurance event in history and certainly one of the deadliest. Rather than look at the accumulated statistics, I thought it would be interesting to ask the question, “Have the Atlantic and Gulf Coast state insurance markets prepared for the next big hurricane?”  Read Story

Nothing inspires a politician more than a good populist cause, and one of the most populist of all causes in the last ten years or so has been insurers’ use of credit scoring. It has provided fuel for a fire that no one can effectively extinguish. No response to charges levied against its use is sufficient. Its benefits do not matter. In short, as far as government and the public are concerned, it is indefensible, but insurers insist on fighting for the ability to use it.  Read Story

Here’s a quiz for you: What manmade object on Earth can you see from outer space? No, it’s not the Great Wall of China, despite the persistent and incorrect urban legend. It’s the lawyers lined up at the courthouse trying to file Chinese drywall suits, especially after the $2.5 million verdict on June 18 in that mildewed judicial hellhole we all know and love as Florida.  Read Story

Rhode Island is an interesting state. First, it’s the smallest, just 1,214 square miles. Compare that to the Chicago metropolitan area, where I live, which comprises 5,000 square miles. Why both Mayor Daley and Cook County tax something the size of Rhode Island three times before lunch.  Read Story

In the movie “Little Miss Sunshine,” Olive Hoover was a little girl with a dream but burdened with a totally dysfunctional family. Florida reminds me of Olive, and state government is its dysfunctional family. Florida dreams of cheap property insurance, and state government swears it can get her there. Unfortunately, dreams and reality clashed in the Sunshine State and practically wrecked the insurance market. This week, the parade got rained on again.  Read Story