A View from the Press Box

Rating agencies took a well-deserved beating last week when they were called on the carpet by state regulators wary of trusting their assessments going forward.

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Will Congress pass a health care reform bill before the year is out? That’s the question we’re posing to readers on NU’s online poll this week. Cast your vote at www.property-casualty.com.

New York’s former insurance superintendent, Eric Dinallo–now an NYU professor, and potential candidate for state attorney general–published an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Daily News in which he explains why individuals must be required to buy health insurance to reform the system. But he also suggests that a public option is required to make sure coverage is affordable for all. Frankly, I wonder whether he might think my call for a Health Insurance Assigned Risk Plan might do the trick?

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While I didn’t expect to see insurers and agents dancing in the streets, I could have sworn I heard a collective sigh of relief from the industry after the release yesterday of a compromise health insurance reform bill by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus.

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Swiss Re started the year in a tough spot, having reported a big loss for 2008 and not enough capital on hand to maintain its “AA” rating from S&P. Yet the firm has managed a rapid change in fortunes, thanks to a substantial capital injection, a quick clean-up of its investment portfolio and a continuing emphasis on sound underwriting, CEO Stefan Lippe stressed during an exclusive interview this morning in his Manhattan office.

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It’s hard to believe, but today is my 28th anniversary at NU! A lot has changed since I started here working on a manual typewriter, but some things never seem to change–including the still unresolved debates over tort reform and federal versus state regulation that I was reporting on back in 1981! Feel free to comment on what else hasn’t changed much in the insurance and risk management busines since then.

It was quite an honor sitting next to Charlotte Spencer last night–the widow of Robert Spencer, the pioneer in risk management for whom the Spencer Educational Foundation is named–during an elegant dinner at the Waldorf to celebrate the scholarship fund’s 30th anniversary. I was blown away by the parade of those working in the industry who stopped by our table to pay homage to her husband and tell Mrs. Spencer how educational grants from the fund had changed their lives.

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There was a hilarious sketch earlier this year on “Saturday Night Live” in which President Barack Obama is shown compromising his agenda in one congressional visit after another, until he finally loses his cool and morphs into  “The Rock” Obama–portrayed by the host of that episode, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The newly energized Obama tosses his disagreeable tormentors–including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi–out the White House window. We finally got a taste of the real-life “The Rock” Obama in his speech last night to Congress and the nation. (more…)

What ethical obligations, if any, do insurance companies and independent agencies have in developing a more diverse industry workforce by recruiting, training and promoting more women and minorities in their respective ends of the business? That is NU’s next “Question of Ethics.” Post your responses here, and while you may remain anonymous, please note what role you perform in the industry–agent, underwriter, adjuster, etc.

With his health care reform effort on the ropes after taking a beating all summer in town halls across America, President Barack Obama is finally hitting back, making a long overdue house call to the House chamber on Sept. 9 to convince a chaotic Congress and frightened, misinformed public to jump on his bandwagon before it’s too late. (more…)