A View from the Press Box

Critics of the industry say that when you purchase an insurance policy, all you are really buying is the right to sue. While such a cynical attitude is no doubt unfair, given the vast majority of satisfied policyholders, some lawsuits over claims rejections are inevitable. But should an insurance company be facilitating litigation against its peers? That’s the question following the introduction of coverage for insureds looking to challenge denials.

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Is there a way for insurers to provide more information about claims outcomes–specifically, how much insurers actually pay out to close a claim, versus how much the claimant sought? A journalism “auditor” suggested recently that the lack of such hard numbers makes it impossible to accurately judge the industry’s claims-handling performance, and he may be onto something.

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The leading figure in state regulation and the head of a major insurance industry trade group pushing for optional federal charters will meet face-to-face in a “Great Debate” over state versus federal regulation next month in Las Vegas, with a national Webcast rematch set for September, with both events moderated by yours truly. Read on for details, and feel free to suggest any questions you might want me to raise.

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Three finalists have been chosen in the second annual “National Underwriter Award For Excellence In Workers’ Compensation Risk Management”—a program sponsored by the National Council On Compensation Insurance. Cue the drum roll and read on!

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Should all New York insurance intermediaries be denied the opportunity to earn contingent commissions because mega-brokers were forced to give up that lucrative revenue stream as part of settlements of bid-rigging allegations? I don’t think so–but on the other hand, perhaps it’s time to reconsider the ban hamstringing the big firms as well.

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As someone who recently ran an image of Vice President Dick Cheney’s face in the cartoon body of Elmer Fudd to illustrate a story about coverage for wayward hunters, I sympathize with editors at “The New Yorker” who took such a verbal beating this week over the publication’s controversial cover satirizing all the fearsome, ignorant misconceptions about Sen. Barack Obama. For those “offended” by the image, or who find it “tasteless,” I say, get over it! This country is too sensitive and politically correct for its own good.

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For years, Columbia Journalism Review has called attention to good reporting while skewering what it considers bad journalism in its “Darts & Laurels” column. Unfortunately, I believe the CJR organization deserves a “Dart” for dismissing complaints by me and the Insurance Information Institute about the accuracy and fairness of the “The Insurance Hoax”–the hatchet job in the September 2007 issue of “Bloomberg Markets” about the industry’s claims-handling practices.

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With the number of people lacking medical insurance likely to keep skyrocketing now that companies are laying off employees by the thousands, I can’t help but wonder whether the country’s health will deteriorate as many put off seeing a doctor, or try to diagnose and treat themselves.

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The message of a recent cartoon in “The New Yorker” was so self-evident that it didn’t even require a caption. It showed a patient sitting on an examining table looking alarmed at his doctor, who was wearing a white coat covered with drug-maker decals. The doctor looked just like one of those race car drivers displaying all their sponsors. In this marketing-driven age of modern medicine, perhaps such attire for MDs is not such a bad idea.

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My friends, I will be hanging up the “Gone Fishing’” sign next week, and will not be filing any new blog entries while I’m off from work. However, making like the Oprah Winfrey of the insurance industry, I thought I would leave you with a few thoughts on some good books to read this summer, and I invite you to post your recommendations as well!

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