Back in 1976 while editor of The Claimsman, the monthly newsletter of the South Florida Claims Association, I pitched the idea of a "George Bureau" in one of my editorials, which were then titled "The Claims-Conscious Iconoclast." I suggested that this bureau would solve many of Florida's uninsured motorist and drunk-driving problems. By then, Florida had auto no-fault, which carried with it a mandatory auto liability insurance requirement. Hence every registered automobile was supposed to be insured.

To get around the law, a deadbeat would use a trick in which he would go to an agent, get a binder for coverage, then register his car and never pay the premium. Undoubtedly, the stunt was not unique to Florida; this may be common in any state with a mandatory auto insurance law.

In the 1970s, we believed computers could do just about everything. (In 2009, we know they can.) Hence, my editorial suggested a state George Bureau that would enforce the law with a screwdriver. If an auto policy was cancelled for non-payment, then the guy from the George Bureau would find the car, remove the license plates, and paste a big red sticker on the front windshield. The police could arrest anyone who tried to then drive the car and charge them with violating the insurance law.