Did he ever tell us what the Name of the Game was?

From the SunHerald: Comments on Insurance

A comment on insurance and Hurricane Katrina from an Anonymous poster... including my own commentary in italics:

"The "Name of the Game" people is the same as any corporation, or small business. Unlike the government, State Farm is not welfare agency. They are a business."

And I'm pretty sure the concept of a 'good faith' contract is familiar to them as well.

"When it comes to writing home or business insurance, for people who think they have a Constitutional right to live in a hurricane combat zone, it's a no-win situation."

I know I missed a couple of Constitutional Interpretation courses.... But uhm... I do have a constitutional right to live in a hurricane combat zone -- if such a thing existed. I know they've messed around with the Constitution quite a bit over the years -- but property ownership is still rather sacred. I have a right to live on the property I own. Thanks.

"And that's the issue here that no one wants to admit. You have entire communities built in the worst possible locations and people who assume that it's the responsibility of private insurance, or government, to keep rebuilding their lives every time a storm rips down their world."

It's my responsibility to rebuild my life every time a storm rips down my world. And I take that responsibility very seriously... that is why I purchased private insurance and paid a hefty rate for the extra risk the insurance company was taking - what with me living in a 'hurricane combat zone' and all that.

"Just because you paid $1,800 a year for 20 years, that isn't squat when it will likely cost $250,000, or maybe $300,000 to rebuild your home and restore your contents. Its a losing proposition."

Gosh. This is really an incredible observation. Just think about this from the insurance companies perspective... What if you bought a new home and immediately purchased insurance on the home - paying your first premium of $1800. And what if.. the NEXT DAY.. your home burned to the ground and it would cost $300,000 to replace the house and all of its contents. How fair is that? I mean... You only paid $1800 in.. why should you get $300,000 out??

Why? *drumroll*

Because THAT is the risk the INSURER takes. Insurance used to make their profits based on spreading out risk (Though now it seems they've found a way to increase those profits even more).... For every policy that forced a payout of more than was ever paid in by that policyholder -- there were 50 more policyholders who paid in their entire lives and never made a claim.

Aha! But we live in a Hurricane Combat Zone! Anyone can see that! Then why did the insurance companies sell us these policies in the first place? OH wait.. I know... Because even the insurance companies were not expecting to have to pay out to so many policyholders at the same time. Hmm.. But when they wrote those policies... isn't that the risk THEY were taking? There has always been risk on both sides of this playing field... It's just that after paying $1,800 for 20 years - folks didn't expect their insurers to take their ball and go home.

"State Farm is coming to grips with the reality that you cannot survive paying out billions every year to coastal towns and communities, who insist on rebuilding in frequent disaster zones."

Please. Please. Define 'frequent disaster zone' for me. Please. Augh my head hurts. I am (for the purposes of illustration) 36 years old. This is the first disaster I have experienced... and I'm certainly not planning on experiencing another in my lifetime.

Does anyone remember the landslides that plagued poor California a couple of years ago when they were hit with tons of unprecedented rain? Does anyone remember the commentary from average American citizens and news reporters all over the country? I do! "Well these folks are living on the side of a mountain... they can't expect US to pay for it when the mountain falls on their houses...."

It seems like the rest of the state... the rest of the country.. is only interested in 'risk-sharing' when there is no risk and when there are only benefits to reap. That is -- let's all buy insurance through insurer X because they insure nationwide and therefore their rates are lower. We all 'enjoyed' the insurance rates we had because the risk is shared across hundreds of thousands of policies nationwide. Ah... but when actually paying for that shared risk enters the picture -- it's not 'our' risk anymore at all, is it?

I tell you what then... Let's all pay for our insurance individually. To the guy who wrote this comment -- and to others like him... Here is what you do to insure that you will never ever have to 'suffer the consequences' of people like me making insurance claims: In order to insure your home and contents against ALL PERILS with no mumbo jumbo - then you will need to be insured for full-replacement cost in the event that your home and contents are totally destroyed in one fell swoop. Go open a bank account... Make sure it draws a lot of interest cause you're going to need it. Now... each month for $200,000 and $100,000 in contents you will need to deposit $5000 into this account. (That's a $60,000 premium - a remarkable savings!) You will then need to pray that no tragedy befalls your home or its contents for the first five years of your insurance plan - or else there won't be enough money in your Free Parking lottery to pay the bills. Of course - if your property value increases or the cost of labor and construction materials increase... You may still come up short. But don't fret.. What are the chances you're actually going to need this anyway, right? Afterall, you don't live in a 'frequent disaster area'.

(I have strong opinions about the insurance issue here on the coast. I am aware that insurance has basically defrauded a lot of people since Hurricane Katrina. However, I feel that in some instances, the only thing keeping desperate policyholders from defrauding the insurance companies is the hassle of a lawsuit. Let's just say the whole thing has gotten really ugly... And both sides have been seen telling some tall tales and slinging some mud underhand. Therefore - I usually stay away from anonymous comments such as the one above... This time though - I was feeling cranky. Thanks for indulging me.)