Perhaps the biggest post-election story as far as insurers are concerned is the surprising resurrection of Sen. Trent Lott, who was elected minority whip last week. The use of “whip” is quite ironic, as the Mississippi Republican is already trying to beat the industry into submission after he had his Hurricane Katrina claim denied under the standard homeowners flood exclusion. There's no telling what he'll do to punish the industry now that he has additional leverage in Congress.
Even though the federal legislature will be controlled by Democrats next year, there are lots of members of Congress on that side of the aisle who have no more love for the industry than Sen. Lott–such as fellow Mississippian Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat who is also suing his carrier over a Katrina dispute.
Sen. Lott has already raised a ruckus since filing a lawsuit against his insurer, State Farm, by deftly inserting a provision into an appropriations bill prior to Election Day ordering the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to probe insurer handling of Hurricane Katrina claims. Somehow, I am not confident insurers will come out of that investigation smelling like roses.
Sen. Lott has also promised to hit insurers where they hurt by taking away their precious federal antitrust exemption. If he indeed introduces a bill in the next Congress to repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act's exemption, again, he'll certainly find plenty of bipartisan calls seconding his motion.
One lobbyist quoted by our Washington editor, Dave Postal (and who understandably wishes to remain anonymous), summed it up best when he said that Sen. Lott has insurers “in his crosshairs, and will make their lives miserable, and will use his leadership position to thwart their legislative agenda. Bye-bye, McCarran-Ferguson!
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. If so, Sen. Lott is positioned to feast next year.
What do you think will occur, and whatever happened to the idea that Republicans are friends of the insurance industry??? I invite you to comment below.
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