Posted On: July 17, 2008, 12:19 pm CDT

Posted By: Jon the Agent

After several years of hearing all the sides of the coastal, NFIP, windstorm, firestorm debates, my opinion hasn't changed:
1. The Coastal Issue is over-rated....Big Insurance Co's want the cheapest and easy way out. They are cream skimmers with the incentive to put their stockholders and their own performance first (sometimes not in that order).
2. Insurance is a market driven business which is commonly driven by performance, with stockholders, eventually and usually slowly driving decisions.
3. Insurance Co's usually go with the pack; heaven forbid they get left behind in following the latest trend (no matter how stupid or dumb or public relations damaging); once one company starts they all seem to follow (credit scoring, non-renewal of coastal, denial of wind/flood claims, high wind deductibles/exclusions, going paperless by directing agents go into the web site and print off their own copy (now that's efficiency).
4. There may come a time where no growth in the industry will take place, as a result of the actions previously taken and/or newly emerging markets. It may be already occurring at some companies. This should spur stockholder intiatives to put pressure on the managements of a few companies (Travelers)to come up with some real solutions to the many concerns many IJ bloggers made concerning responsible decisions that need to be made; they should have been addressed years ago.
5. We need a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates -type of individual to give this industry a kick in the pants. How about some real leadership Mr. Fishman and Mr. Rasmussen?