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Raise the curtain.

Macomb Daily: Insurance agents go on defense

By Theblogprof, Section News
Posted on Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 10:54:27 AM EST
Tags: Detroit, Granholm, insurance, regulation (all tags)

cross-posted at theblogprof

Insurance rates have been a hot topic in the Detroit metro area for as long as I can remember. Not long ago was this post in the freep which had this snippet, amongst others:

Other proposals, including one that would bar insurers from making credit scores a factor in rate-setting, deserve closer study. It would seem a move toward more fairness. But without other measures, it wouldn't necessarily erase the horrible imbalance in rates being paid in cities like Detroit, where even responsible policyholders can't catch a break. (emphasis mine)

Poor Detroit. Disrespected. Misunderstood. So unfair. UNFAIR!!! So who gets to decide what's fair? Implied in the above article is (what else) government regulation. Yeah - a bunch of politically-motivated bureaucrats sitting around deciding what's fair and what's not. Never been a good idea. Nor is it a good one now. Enter one Jennifer Granholm. The Macomb Daily reports:

Michigan's independent insurance agents are fighting back against the Granholm administration's bid to lower auto insurance rates by imposing new regulations on the industry.
In her State of the State address, Gov. Granholm called for a 1-year freeze on auto insurance rates."
Assuring that all Michigan residents have access to affordable automobile insurance rates is critical to growing, strong communities and a thriving economy," Granholm wrote in a follow-up letter. (emphasis mine)

Looks like Granholm got the memo - more regulation (ironic how "Granholm" and "thriving economy" can be used in the same sentence). And "access to affordable auto insurance rates?" Is that becoming a right also? Isn't this the same thing democrats say about health care? Why not just send out a memo to all democrats that contains something like this:

All (insert state here) residents must have access to affordable (insert pet cause here)

There. Won't that simplify things for everyone? In any case, here's another snippet from the post:

According to the latest reports, Michigan's average annual auto insurance premium of $1,067 ranks 11th highest among all states. In Detroit, an average rate of $5,072 is, by far, the highest rate among the nation's urban areas.

So why are rates so high in Detroit? Well, for one thing, how trustworthy is a person with a low credit score? Wouldn't it make sense that such a person would be less responsible, less likely to pay premiums, and less likely to make prudent decisions on the road? That's one issue, but here's the bigger one, and nobody could say it better than Detroit City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins:

Detroit Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said Detroit is a dangerous city, and council members need the unit (police protection unit), especially when they travel to community meetings at night.

There we have it, right from the mouth of someone who should know. So should Granholm argue that Detroit is being unfairly picked on, maybe she can listed to the Councilwoman.

Here's another reason to leave the insurance companies be:

Currently, insurance represents one of the few growing industries in Michigan, employing more than 111,000 people who work for, or whose jobs are dependent upon, 1,557 insurance companies across the state.

For an administration that has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the last 6 years, maybe it's not a good idea to go after "one of the few growing industries in Michigan?" Maybe just lay off of it? Maybe??? Hello? Bueller???

< Tuesday in the Sphere: February 17 | A Representative Michigan can be proud of >

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