Fighting Fire With Fire
Its a recipe for disaster: runaway jury awards, a predatory claimants bar, a culture of blame, the dissipation of personal responsibility, and the view that insurers and corporate America are bottomless deep pockets.
Meanwhile, if the pot of money dries upas it someday couldthen legitimate claimants, who have real illnesses, will be left with nothing, or it will be up to state guaranty funds to fill the hole.
Throughout the 50 states, its common to see television advertisements from claimants attorneys, pushing viewers to sue if theyre not happy with workers compensation awards or if theyve been exposed to asbestos.
Whats noticeably absent from the airwaves are ads from the defendant companies and insurers, telling the U.S. public about the dangers of a runaway tort systems–about who wins and who loses. The public needs to be informed that attorneys are the real winners of many class action suits.
A few high profile insurance executives have spoken out at industry meetings and in Congressional hearings about the dangers of an out-of-control legal system. American International Group has taken out full-page newspaper ads to rank state legal systems. But one wonders if the message is being heard where it counts–in television ads broadcast in the living rooms of America.
Were encouraged by comments from Richard H. Murray, chief claims strategist for Swiss Re, who said in this weeks U.S. Re Report that litigation defendants and insurers need to organize their actions "as well as the claimants to effectively resist their efforts."
We would also applaud a public education campaign. The industry needs to fight fire with fire. This is a battle that needs a public face if significant cultural changes are to be made.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, July 7, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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