The industry took some devastating blows during a Congressional hearing yesterday on insurer handling of Hurricane Katrina claims. I was actually on Capitol Hill to witness the public flogging first hand, watching lawmakers–some overtly hostile, others merely ignorant–take turns beating insurers like a piata. Below are some of my personal observations and analysis, following up on our breaking news story.
It was a long afternoon for the industry, which was certainly playing against a stacked deck during the hearing convened before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations–the first of many, no doubt.
The most bizarre part of the hearing was that Rep. Gene Taylor got to serve as both witness and inquisitor! The Mississippi Democrat–who had his own battle with State Farm over the cause of loss that destroyed his home in Katrina–at first testified before the panel…and then was invited up to join his fellow members of Congress to question other witnesses! While this is apparently common practice on the Hill, it's a scene right out of a Kafka novel…or perhaps a Marx Brothers movie.
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