J. Robert Hunter

• CFA: Insurers Becoming Experts at Risk-Avoidance

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 21, 2012

  Insurers are shifting the cost of risk to consumers and taxpayers, side stepping their traditional role of risk-takers and becoming experts at risk-avoidance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America.

• CFA Study on Auto Insurance ‘Misguided,’ Says Industry

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  January 31, 2012

  A Consumer Federation of America study claims insurers are making auto insurance less affordable to low- and moderate-income families—a conclusion the insurance industry calls erroneous.

• Group Slams Industry for ‘Manufacturing’ Cycles; Hartwig Responds

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  December 16, 2011

  A hard market now would be “purely for the purpose of price gouging buyers of insurance, particularly commercial-lines insureds,” according to an Americans for Insurance Reform report that says the industry’s “little understood economic cycle” has been used to victimize policyholders for 35 years.

• Consumer Groups Question Role Of Industry-Employed Actuaries On FACI

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  June 30, 2011

  Consumer advocates are questioning whether the Treasury Department should include an actuary as a member of the proposed Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI), citing a potential conflict of interest, among other concerns.

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  CFA: Industry-Employed Actuaries Should Not Be on Fed Insurance Advisory Committee

  By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  June 28, 2011

  Consumer advocates are questioning whether the Treasury Department should include an actuary as a member of the proposed Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance, citing a potential conflict of interest, among other concerns.

• Cat Modeling: Ingrained In The Industry, Embroiled In Controversy

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  March 18, 2011

  Catastrophe models have become so ingrained in the insurance industry that a model revision can have profound effects on all aspects of the business, especially when loss results for some books of business can double.

• Congress' Failure To Extend NFIP Could Endanger Carrier Participation

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com, Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  August 30, 2010

  The failure of Congress to approve long-term renewal of a revamped National Flood Insurance Program could jeopardize the participation of private carriers.

• Agents Ready Clients For NFIP Lapse; Insurers Reconsider WYO

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  August 20, 2010

  Facing another looming flood program expiration deadline on Sept. 30, agents are expressing frustration at Congress and are advising clients to pay renewals for flood policies in advance of the deadline in case there is another lapse.