For someone who spent the spring navigating through the labyrinth of politics in the close quarters of the Capitol, there is something to be said about traveling to some of the summer conventions held by the various agent and trade groups. For by its very nature, the legislative process is tedious, conducted in a seemingly foreign language, and is far removed from the colloquial language that marks the contours of the daily ins and outs of business. That is why it has become a clich? to say that politicians exist in a bubble while insurance professionals must deal with the "real world." Nowhere is that more apparent than standing in an exhibit hall listening to agents, claim adjusters, and others in the industry, noticing just how much of a gap there is between the rarified air of the Capitol and the street-level concerns of industry professionals.
The recent Florida Association of Insurance Agents summer convention was a case in point. By all measures, the conference was a tremendous success with a large crowd, a wide variety of educational sessions, and an exhibit hall full of brokers, company representatives, and other vendors. Standing in the National Underwriter and Florida Underwriter booth, I was first impressed by the number of optimistic attendees I spoke with. Then again, property and casualty markets such as workers' comp and auto insurance are performing at close to an optimum level. And while there was the usual grumbling over this or that legislative change in certain regulations, or the failure of the legislature to really tackle PIP insurance, many were pleased that the legislature followed the old adage of "first do no harm."
Then like a character out of a Charles Dickens novel, in walked an apparition — a ghost, if you will, of hurricanes past and hurricanes future — in the form of an agent with a sign around his neck bearing the words, "Hungry agent, need wind coverage." One sign does not a party end. In fact, many saw the humor in the agent's one-man public protest. But it did make graphic the issue for which there is no escape. When it comes to wind insurance, there are few takers.
Taking a quick random sample of brokers throughout the convention hall, the consensus was overwhelmingly that Florida stands on a precipice, which even a mild hurricane may push the state over.
It is at this point that the gap opens between the legislature and the agents who must deal with policyholders on a daily basis. For the legislature must follow the example of the great design scientist, R. Buckminster Fuller, who constantly cajoled people to "think globally, act locally." But the agent has neither the burden nor the luxury of taking that approach. The agent has the unenviable task of having to look in one homeowner's eye after another and deliver bad news. For agents, who are trained to serve and help policyholders, it is the antithesis of all they have learned. So it is no surprise that they want answers, and that where there are no answers they crave solutions. And so the state goes, like a giant windmill facing a wind it can't control.
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