Posted On: July 8, 2004, 3:09 pm CDT

Posted By: Paula

Like C. Thun, I came to the article to read an industry perspective to the choices upcoming. Unfortunately, I wasn't as surprised as he to read the comments devolve into Us v. Them style of political shouting. It's kinda what I've come to expect in internet forums, though I would hope for better in an industry forum.

For those who would like to examine this from an industry perspective, I personally support the suggestions of another article posted on Insurance Journal ( http://tinyurl.com/29odf ) that the higher costs of insurance may bring companies to better evaluate their liabilities and engage in more aggressive risk management. Placing the focus purely on tort reform not fails to do more than push the problem back a step, it implies that liability isn't an issue of preventing injury in every reasonable way, but an issue of how much money should be involved when injury occurs. Insurance isn't just about payment of damages, it's about the whole process of identifying and addressing risk, insuring it only where it cannot be otherwise managed.

When it comes to insurance premiums, as much as there has been claims by many in the industry that high premiums are due to a lack of tort reform, there are claims by others that tort reform and premium pricing really have little to do with one another. I think those in the industry have adequate access to the former arguments, here's what I've personally found to be the most accessible resource for the latter: http://www.insurance-reform.org/

As an insurance industry professional, I'm not a Republican, and I'm not a Democrat -- I'm someone who has made the commitment to do my best to serve the needs of both my insureds and my community (since they're really not that far apart). I think all of us need to practice taking a step back from heated rhetoric and traditional assumptions to make sure we really do have the whole picture in mind, putting the public interest and improving the industry above all else ( http://tinyurl.com/2cjeg ).