Insurers can\’t make a change to coverage or rates charged to consumers without approval from state regulators, so I assume Mr. Hunter is calling a press conference to condemn state regulation?
I would rather see this idiot go after the oil companies. They are taking a lot more money out of my pocket and they are doing it from all regions of the country as opposed to the insurance companies that are mainly raising rates in the SE. The oil company profits are obscene. Insurers are barely making their cost of capital.
If the market were overcharging wouldn\’t that create an opportunity for a carrier that doesn’t overcharge to take market share? I look forward to the entry of CFA Insurance Company to the market. Or maybe CFA is just full of hot air?
Nut Job? Yes, but a dangerous one. His press conferences always get extensive media coverage and politicians make sympathetic noises and promise hearings and new laws. Meanwhile the public eats it up.
The industry refutations of his \”studies\” never draw the same coverage except in the insurance press.
Wouldn\’t you love to set him up as CEO of his own insurance company with a reality show TV Camera on his every move?
Not to worry, the ticket for the Democrats in 2008 will be Spitzer and Hunter, then all will become right with the world and those nasty insurance guys are out of business.
Non-profit, pro-consumer organizations that support the mission of CFA qualify for membership. While annual dues payments range as high as $20,000, most organizations contribute between $75 and $1,000 annually.
It is so sad to see that our industry (insurance) is continuing to increase premuims (regardless of each different state regulator approval as they don\’t see all of the carriers books) despite having very profitable years(Despite Katrina)from both premium increases and lately having an actual ROI from our investments in various markets.
I guess it easier to blame the messenger (consumer group) than it is for us to recognize that we aren\’t always the good guys (guys wearing the white hats)…
No, we are not always the good guys. Neither are we the villans the likes of CFA makes us out to be. Considering the membership dues for CFA membership, you get what you pay for.
Why don\’t you start your own Oil Exploration company, then set up refining plants and a distribution system. If there is so much money in it, surely you\’d be better off than in the ins bus.
More realistically, why not mortgage your house and cars and buy stock in these greedy oil companies, then you could benefit from their obscene profit.
I\’d bet $1,000 you are anti WalMart as well. Probably anti MicroSoft also. Since when is it a bad thing to make money in America? If you had the courage and brains to start and build one of these companies what would you do differently? Attract more investors (shareholders like you and me) by making \”less obscene\” profits?
No matter what your income is, there is someone, somewhere, that would consider it obscene. How much would you be willing to give them because they think you make too much money?
Asking the Government to pick on one industry over another is very shortsighted. We would all be better off with the Government spending less of our money (Corporate or otherwise, since it\’s all comes down to the shareholders), and \”ALLOWING\” us to spend it as we see fit.
Nancy Pelosi is in charge and she will not allow profits if she has anything to say about it. It\’s just wrong that insurers would expect to make a profit and produce returns for their investors; this won\’t work in the socialistic future that has been planned.
Insurers have skirted their responsibility for rebuilding New Orleans, (and their levees) and now they must pay!
This sounds like a fun group; I like bowties, and maybe we can have a press conference and talk about Wal-Mart making too much money, too. That and oil companies, McDonalds, and anyone who makes more than I do…
I liked it better when more corporations were posting profits and inflation and unemployment were in the double digits; where is Jimmy Carter when you need him? Come to think of it, he would look good in a bowtie, too.
I am quite enjoying seeing you doctrinaire (and essentially willfully ignorant)\”free\”-marketeers squirming as the pendulum swings away from unrestricted \”free\” markets and the absolute chaos they always engender (\”free\” really only means that who is starting with the most capital at a given time is going to espouse \”free market\” doctrine and try to buy off politicians and bully everyone else, while ripping off the public good, our environment, etc.. How about \”rigged, bully\” markets as a name instead?
After the chaos, such as we have seen with an economically motivated war in Iraq and the chaos caused by Walmart and the loss of American jobs and public welfare, the body politic gets fed up and reacts and the pendulum swings back. Hooray! Enjoy!
Educated people recognize that there are many damaging effects of unregulated markets not contemplated in a dogmatic simple-minded defense of \”free\” markets that was recently seen here by Chad and others. Look into what broader minds now refer to as \”externalities\” (examples: the oil-grab Iraq war, the true cost of oil in relation to our national offense budget, pollution, resource depletion, etc. not to mention the human impact and ecological impact of Walmart, oil, timber you name it).
Plus, insurance people\’s income will go down along with premiums. I love it! There is a god. You want more income? Try working!
You know, if you hadn\’t been such bullies and so dogmatic for so long, we would not be in such a polarized mess and you could work with reasonable people who understand the bigger picture in the political middle. (But that would require you to give up your simple doctrine of phony \”free\” markets and think for yourself–quite possibly for the first time in your life). \”Free\” markets–yeah, right–Maybe \”free\” for the few with the most capital. Certainly \”free\” from the point of view of dumping pollution for free, exhausting and not replacing resources for free, and dumping (free) un-insured people into our public hospitals a la Walmart.
So, for now, duck that pendulum, or better yet–don\’t–good riddance to you purveyors of bad, extremist, dogmatic rubbish. Join reasonable people in the middle or run off your little cliff.
And I don\’t care what you write in reply because the damage has been done–the message is out and is increasingly coming out. \”Free\” markets are not free and have an immense impact on society beyond the \”benefits\” you argue that they bring. And we won\’t fall for your predictable attempts to polarize debate by throwing labels of communist or socialist out. The solution is quite firmly in the middle and your extremism only delays and diminishes what needs to be done to restore balance and assure a decent, human future for us all.
Time to learn some new tricks, guys! \”We won\’t get fooled again.\”
Have a nice weekend and examine your consciences and throw out that counter-productive extremist dogma. It is staler even than Marxism and certainly smells fully as bad. Get practical! Get pragmatic!.
Holy crap!!! Who knew Karl Marx was still alive and reading the Insurance Journal. Get back to your socialist cave you loser! Why don\’t you tell all of us what you do for a living and what tax bracket you are in?
I\’m so embarrassed; Media Mogul has exposed me and my secret cohorts for the evil, oil hording, Walmart Loving, war mongering, pro-insurance, anti union people we are! (we like meat, too, perhaps he was in a hurry or just sloppy, but I\’m sure he meant to include meat eaters; just pretend he included it).
My conscience weighs heavy as I must realize the error of our ways; perhaps we can go to Oprah and search our feelings; we can determine why we must be so greedy and why we need to make profit to make the economy grow.
Media is right, the free market is bad, I can\’t believe I\’ve spent so much money there; it\’s free, after all! I\’ve been such a fool…I\’m going to a support group for Walmart-holics at once and spill my guts; I feel better already.
My only regret is Media won\’t play anymore; he has made his point, and man, did he hit the thing on the head; it\’s not everyday you can enjoy \’externalities\’ and \’dogmatic\’ in the same rant (and pendulum…that\’s a cool word, I like it). But he won\’t reply, or replay…darn.
I\’m going to feverisly search for Media\’s church of the swinging pendulum so I may talk my misguided contacts into worshipping there. Thank you for enlighening us, and no, your no Karl Marx, as no such rant as yours would be allowed in a Marxists society. Wait, it\’s the weekend; I gotta hit Wal-Mart before the game starts tonite.
I hear North Korea has the identical society that you are preaching for. I myself, being a kind hearted gun toting conservative, will start out the fund and contribute $50 towards your one way airline ticket. I am sure Kim Jong Ill will be happy to welcome you. I bet you can even get a job working on passing out the 1/4 cup of rice that each citizen gets once a week. That should make you feel really warm inside as he plays no favorites over there, everybody gets the same except him.
Insurers make money, consumerists go after them. Insurers lose money, class action lawyers go after them. Insurers get everything just right, they lose business to insurers that don\’t.
If you lost money for 20 years in a row in your business, wouldn\’t you raise prices? And in the first year you make a profit, how would you feel if Bob Hunter came after you?
I don\’t know why anyone would want to be in insurance.
If you think free markets don\’t work, then why did you buy your big screen TV this year? I don\’t recall any consumerists going after the big screen TV industry to force prices down.
Not even CFA. If this so called consumer federation truly believed insurance rates were excessive it would go into the insurance business; sell the product for less; really help consumers (instead of doing phony studies and writing press releases).
I could not help but respond becasue I can not remember the last time I read a post on this board that had the word or reference to \”Dogma\” 3 times. I just got a kick out that.
Who ever heard of the concept of passing the cost insurance to the insured?! This sounds absolutely communist to me! It must be the new liberal congress. Insurance companies have been designed as charities from day one and should stay that way!
J. Robert Hunter and his so-called \”Consumer\” Federation of America is a one man band that plays only one tune, the same way the so-called \”Reverend\” Barry Lind is the \”Americans\” United for the Seperation of Church and State. Hunter makes his living off of bashing the insurance industry; Lind make his living off of being a church hater. The media clamor to have these charlatans speak for the masses, when they in fact are the sole representative.
Although things are going pretty well with insurance companies these days we paid a lot out in the late 90\’s early 2000\’s for cat claims.
As sure as the sun rises every morning there will be rougher times ahead – even with our lovely insurance scoring systems. Even people with high insurance scores can\’t fight/stop a tornado or earthquake!
Insurers can\’t make a change to coverage or rates charged to consumers without approval from state regulators, so I assume Mr. Hunter is calling a press conference to condemn state regulation?
Gee, Mr. Hunter is the speaker. Just can\’t wait to see the details. I\’m sure the democrats are just going to love this!
What timing.
I wonder if he will have a matching tin foil hat to go along with his bowtie? He is a nut job.
I would check for X-Ray burns on the back of his neck too.
I agree with mamma, regulators approve the rates filed by a carrier so if they are excessive its with the approval of the state.
I would rather see this idiot go after the oil companies. They are taking a lot more money out of my pocket and they are doing it from all regions of the country as opposed to the insurance companies that are mainly raising rates in the SE. The oil company profits are obscene. Insurers are barely making their cost of capital.
If the market were overcharging wouldn\’t that create an opportunity for a carrier that doesn’t overcharge to take market share? I look forward to the entry of CFA Insurance Company to the market. Or maybe CFA is just full of hot air?
Nut Job? Yes, but a dangerous one. His press conferences always get extensive media coverage and politicians make sympathetic noises and promise hearings and new laws. Meanwhile the public eats it up.
The industry refutations of his \”studies\” never draw the same coverage except in the insurance press.
Wouldn\’t you love to set him up as CEO of his own insurance company with a reality show TV Camera on his every move?
Not to worry, the ticket for the Democrats in 2008 will be Spitzer and Hunter, then all will become right with the world and those nasty insurance guys are out of business.
CFA Membership
Non-profit, pro-consumer organizations that support the mission of CFA qualify for membership. While annual dues payments range as high as $20,000, most organizations contribute between $75 and $1,000 annually.
Lets get a look at those books ! Please.
It is so sad to see that our industry (insurance) is continuing to increase premuims (regardless of each different state regulator approval as they don\’t see all of the carriers books) despite having very profitable years(Despite Katrina)from both premium increases and lately having an actual ROI from our investments in various markets.
I guess it easier to blame the messenger (consumer group) than it is for us to recognize that we aren\’t always the good guys (guys wearing the white hats)…
Oh well…We\’ll see what happens next.
No, we are not always the good guys. Neither are we the villans the likes of CFA makes us out to be. Considering the membership dues for CFA membership, you get what you pay for.
Hey Disposable Income,
Why don\’t you start your own Oil Exploration company, then set up refining plants and a distribution system. If there is so much money in it, surely you\’d be better off than in the ins bus.
More realistically, why not mortgage your house and cars and buy stock in these greedy oil companies, then you could benefit from their obscene profit.
I\’d bet $1,000 you are anti WalMart as well. Probably anti MicroSoft also. Since when is it a bad thing to make money in America? If you had the courage and brains to start and build one of these companies what would you do differently? Attract more investors (shareholders like you and me) by making \”less obscene\” profits?
No matter what your income is, there is someone, somewhere, that would consider it obscene. How much would you be willing to give them because they think you make too much money?
Asking the Government to pick on one industry over another is very shortsighted. We would all be better off with the Government spending less of our money (Corporate or otherwise, since it\’s all comes down to the shareholders), and \”ALLOWING\” us to spend it as we see fit.
Nancy Pelosi is in charge and she will not allow profits if she has anything to say about it. It\’s just wrong that insurers would expect to make a profit and produce returns for their investors; this won\’t work in the socialistic future that has been planned.
Insurers have skirted their responsibility for rebuilding New Orleans, (and their levees) and now they must pay!
This sounds like a fun group; I like bowties, and maybe we can have a press conference and talk about Wal-Mart making too much money, too. That and oil companies, McDonalds, and anyone who makes more than I do…
I liked it better when more corporations were posting profits and inflation and unemployment were in the double digits; where is Jimmy Carter when you need him? Come to think of it, he would look good in a bowtie, too.
I am quite enjoying seeing you doctrinaire (and essentially willfully ignorant)\”free\”-marketeers squirming as the pendulum swings away from unrestricted \”free\” markets and the absolute chaos they always engender (\”free\” really only means that who is starting with the most capital at a given time is going to espouse \”free market\” doctrine and try to buy off politicians and bully everyone else, while ripping off the public good, our environment, etc.. How about \”rigged, bully\” markets as a name instead?
After the chaos, such as we have seen with an economically motivated war in Iraq and the chaos caused by Walmart and the loss of American jobs and public welfare, the body politic gets fed up and reacts and the pendulum swings back. Hooray! Enjoy!
Educated people recognize that there are many damaging effects of unregulated markets not contemplated in a dogmatic simple-minded defense of \”free\” markets that was recently seen here by Chad and others. Look into what broader minds now refer to as \”externalities\” (examples: the oil-grab Iraq war, the true cost of oil in relation to our national offense budget, pollution, resource depletion, etc. not to mention the human impact and ecological impact of Walmart, oil, timber you name it).
Plus, insurance people\’s income will go down along with premiums. I love it! There is a god. You want more income? Try working!
You know, if you hadn\’t been such bullies and so dogmatic for so long, we would not be in such a polarized mess and you could work with reasonable people who understand the bigger picture in the political middle. (But that would require you to give up your simple doctrine of phony \”free\” markets and think for yourself–quite possibly for the first time in your life). \”Free\” markets–yeah, right–Maybe \”free\” for the few with the most capital. Certainly \”free\” from the point of view of dumping pollution for free, exhausting and not replacing resources for free, and dumping (free) un-insured people into our public hospitals a la Walmart.
So, for now, duck that pendulum, or better yet–don\’t–good riddance to you purveyors of bad, extremist, dogmatic rubbish. Join reasonable people in the middle or run off your little cliff.
And I don\’t care what you write in reply because the damage has been done–the message is out and is increasingly coming out. \”Free\” markets are not free and have an immense impact on society beyond the \”benefits\” you argue that they bring. And we won\’t fall for your predictable attempts to polarize debate by throwing labels of communist or socialist out. The solution is quite firmly in the middle and your extremism only delays and diminishes what needs to be done to restore balance and assure a decent, human future for us all.
Time to learn some new tricks, guys! \”We won\’t get fooled again.\”
Have a nice weekend and examine your consciences and throw out that counter-productive extremist dogma. It is staler even than Marxism and certainly smells fully as bad. Get practical! Get pragmatic!.
Holy crap!!! Who knew Karl Marx was still alive and reading the Insurance Journal. Get back to your socialist cave you loser! Why don\’t you tell all of us what you do for a living and what tax bracket you are in?
I\’m so embarrassed; Media Mogul has exposed me and my secret cohorts for the evil, oil hording, Walmart Loving, war mongering, pro-insurance, anti union people we are! (we like meat, too, perhaps he was in a hurry or just sloppy, but I\’m sure he meant to include meat eaters; just pretend he included it).
My conscience weighs heavy as I must realize the error of our ways; perhaps we can go to Oprah and search our feelings; we can determine why we must be so greedy and why we need to make profit to make the economy grow.
Media is right, the free market is bad, I can\’t believe I\’ve spent so much money there; it\’s free, after all! I\’ve been such a fool…I\’m going to a support group for Walmart-holics at once and spill my guts; I feel better already.
My only regret is Media won\’t play anymore; he has made his point, and man, did he hit the thing on the head; it\’s not everyday you can enjoy \’externalities\’ and \’dogmatic\’ in the same rant (and pendulum…that\’s a cool word, I like it). But he won\’t reply, or replay…darn.
I\’m going to feverisly search for Media\’s church of the swinging pendulum so I may talk my misguided contacts into worshipping there. Thank you for enlighening us, and no, your no Karl Marx, as no such rant as yours would be allowed in a Marxists society. Wait, it\’s the weekend; I gotta hit Wal-Mart before the game starts tonite.
Hey MM,
I hear North Korea has the identical society that you are preaching for. I myself, being a kind hearted gun toting conservative, will start out the fund and contribute $50 towards your one way airline ticket. I am sure Kim Jong Ill will be happy to welcome you. I bet you can even get a job working on passing out the 1/4 cup of rice that each citizen gets once a week. That should make you feel really warm inside as he plays no favorites over there, everybody gets the same except him.
ZZZZZZ….Wow media mogul…That is the largest posting that I started to read and then gave up on. Long live verbosity….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Insurers make money, consumerists go after them. Insurers lose money, class action lawyers go after them. Insurers get everything just right, they lose business to insurers that don\’t.
If you lost money for 20 years in a row in your business, wouldn\’t you raise prices? And in the first year you make a profit, how would you feel if Bob Hunter came after you?
I don\’t know why anyone would want to be in insurance.
If you think free markets don\’t work, then why did you buy your big screen TV this year? I don\’t recall any consumerists going after the big screen TV industry to force prices down.
Not even CFA. If this so called consumer federation truly believed insurance rates were excessive it would go into the insurance business; sell the product for less; really help consumers (instead of doing phony studies and writing press releases).
I could not help but respond becasue I can not remember the last time I read a post on this board that had the word or reference to \”Dogma\” 3 times. I just got a kick out that.
Who ever heard of the concept of passing the cost insurance to the insured?! This sounds absolutely communist to me! It must be the new liberal congress. Insurance companies have been designed as charities from day one and should stay that way!
J. Robert Hunter and his so-called \”Consumer\” Federation of America is a one man band that plays only one tune, the same way the so-called \”Reverend\” Barry Lind is the \”Americans\” United for the Seperation of Church and State. Hunter makes his living off of bashing the insurance industry; Lind make his living off of being a church hater. The media clamor to have these charlatans speak for the masses, when they in fact are the sole representative.
Although things are going pretty well with insurance companies these days we paid a lot out in the late 90\’s early 2000\’s for cat claims.
As sure as the sun rises every morning there will be rougher times ahead – even with our lovely insurance scoring systems. Even people with high insurance scores can\’t fight/stop a tornado or earthquake!