567 sats \ 2 replies \ @gabybaby 25 Nov 2023 \ parent \ on: Meta Econ Takeover Day 40 meta
It's not really insurance if it inevitably gets stopgapped by taxpayers against their will. It absolutely grinds my fucking gears and when I talk to health actuaries I'm blown away by how much less sophisticated their pricing techniques are relative to my industry's.
We actually rely pretty heavily on data and statistical techniques, significantly less on trying to get our way through political avenues.
One thing too to note about insurance markets, don't be surprised if places like CA or FL see private personal lines insurers (homeowners, auto, etc.) leave because of terrible economics and get replaced by fully public options.
I've only heard mention of Florida screwing up their homeowners insurance, but I don't know the details of what happened. Obviously, I'm not surprised California screwed theirs up.
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Depending on how the heads of Departments of Insurance (DOIs) are selected (elected or appointed), there can be varying levels of political pressure to keep insurance rates down even in the face of grim economic realities.
A popular maneuver is capping the rate increases that can be filed on a yearly basis; this looks like a win for the consumers in the short term (and great for political bonafides), but creates a massive loss in the medium to long term as insurers leave markets entirely and remaining insurers have little to no incentive to provide good service.
Sadly, both states have geographical drawbacks (CA, wildfires; FL, hurricanes) and aggressive DOIs that make it hard to charge the appropriate rates given the risks involved. Surprisingly, FL is a bit more reasonable than CA or even NY are; I have personal experience filing in FL and while they're tough and demanding they understand that insurers raise rates for a reason. Other states are much less flexible and forgiving.
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