The public likes individual insurers, but has a negative view of the industry as a whole. That was among the findings of a survey of consumers conducted by a polling firm, New York-based Ipsos Public Affairs. As of July, 44 percent of Americans held a very or mainly unfavorable view of the industry, while only 19 percent held a favorable view. But at the same time, results differ when respondents were asked about individual companies. Taking the average of responses on 40 different insurers—including 22 property-casualty carriers—only 7 percent of respondents held an unfavorable view, while the favorable view increased to 24 percent. The lowest rating any individual company received during the last two and a half years was 16 percent unfavorable. The size of the survey sample was 1,000. The findings were presented during a recent meeting of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC).

Public Likes Insurers in Particular, Not Industry in General (National Underwriter 10/6/08)

October 15, 2008