About
People often ask me, ‘Dean, how can we make insurance fun again?’ I tell them, ‘Read and learn, my fellow insureds-nerds.’
This is an experimental blog offering witty and riveting commentary about the U.S. insurance industry’s response to Hurricane Katrina and what we can learn from it. It is founded on two basic assumptions:
1. Everyone thinks insurance is impenetrable and boring.
2. Everyone is wrong.
Ok, two assumptions and two questions:
1.� If insurance is about spreading risk among large numbers, why do we break the big, rich U.S. market into 50 smaller pools along state boundaries?
2. Why do insurance sellers have nearly limitless access to insurance buyers’ credit backgrounds (aka, “financial performance), while insurance buyers don’t know the first thing about insurers’ claims performance, namely:� who is likelier to pay?
The blog is experimental because I’m not sure how long I’ll do it or whether it will take too much time from my main metier (ooo la la), reporting and writing. It’s also experimental in the sense that I may try to use it as a clearinghouse for insurance-related information collected from policyholders, lawyers, insurers, trade groups, the insurance press, regulators, lawmakers and others and, importantly, to advocate for greater industry transparency. It’s also experimental because I obviously can’t get the bold face or paragraph breaks to work properly. Finally, it’s experimental because, obviously, that photo’s gotta go.
From what I can tell so far, and I’m not done reporting yet, the current system isn’t working too well for some Gulf-area policyholders. How many and how bad is it? I don’t know, yet. But so far, it doesn’t look too good.
The purpose of this site is to point out problems — which exist but are difficult to document because most data are (be?) held by insurers — and to propose solutions. And when it comes to solutions, I am basically a one-trick pony.
Here’s what the solution is not: The solution is not to send in an army of regulators, either state or federal, much as I, as an old-time Evanston liberal, love regulators (and the more intrusive the better, dammit!).
Rather, I believe, the solution is to provide better information to insurance buyers, and let the market take care of the rest.
Who the hell am I and why am I doing this? I’ll have a more thorough bio later, but I’m a humble freelance reporter. I worked for eight years at the Wall Street Journal until December 2004, covering white-collar crime, the paper industry and real estate, among other things, and did work I’m proud of covering Ground Zero reconstruction, eminent domain and other business stuff, e.g., hostile takeover attemps, economy pieces, features about shopping malls, plastic bags, adult diapers, etc. Before that I was an investigative reporter at the Providence Journal-Bulletin from 1986 to 1996, ending as investigative chief, and helped lead the paper to the 1994 Pulitzer for investigations for a probe of Rhode Island’s Supreme Court. I started at the Anniston Star covering rural Alabama, courts and cops back in 1984. I’m a graduate of McGill University and the Columbia J-School. I like long walks on the beach, surfing and scuba diving. Turnoffs: rude people and overcooked pasta.
Yes, I’m also very witty. I’m currently a Katrina Media Fellow sponsored by the Open Society Institute, funded and chaired by my personal friend (I wish), George Soros. My grant extends through next June.
And here’s who I’m not. I’m not a tort lawyer, tort-lawyer lover or a sacher torte, for that matter; I am not an activist, advocate, or avocado. I’m not, obviously, an insurance flak, though I like three guys who are (and they know who they are). I don’t take money from either side. One big reason: No one’s offered! (Rim shot). But seriously, I know that’s a big deal and will be as transparent as possible if/when (please, please, please) someone else steps up.
Why am I doing this? Because I’m a reporter and insurance post-Katrina is best story I’ve come on in 22 years, that’s freakin’ why. I’m beginning to think I know what tobacco reporters felt like back in the ’80s and ’90s. And you don’t have to smoke –see what I’m sayin’? This industry is about to change and change big, with or without me. I’m also doing it because I’ve spent some time in southern Louisiana and Mississippi talking to policyholders. I’m not Captain Crusader, but, let me put it this way, something’s not right.
Dear reader, you still think insurance is boring. Go ahead, admit it. You do. But you think it’s boring only because you don’t know what I know. But, stick with me, and you will.
This blog is my own and has nothing to do with OSI, Mr. Soros, his family or his pets or anybody but me. Void where prohibited. See boxtop for details.