Feedback

I saw your editorial this morning about the lack of industry pushback against the typical demonization it has received, this time with the RAAs. You openly wondered why the industry is so resigned about its position as the designated punching bag for legislators and the media. Well, if you look carefully at what would generously be called the lack of advocacy for insurers that the NU has indulged in over the years (again with the splendid exception of Jack Bobo), you will find that even those who are supposedly covering us and nominally supporting us have demonstrated time after time that the NU finds little advantage in asserting any advocacy, much less even-handed discussion, on behalf of the insurance industry.

If you are truly serious about supporting the insurance industry honestly, I suggest you start at home first and look in the mirror. If I were you, I would have NU start acting seriously about covering both sides of each issue. I would do real interviews of industry professionals (and you certainly don’t have to reveal the names of your sources) and get real reactions that truly reflect the realities of the industry. Don’t expect the industry to suddenly do its own heavy lifting through blogs and letters to the editor, as though those are the only resources available to get our truth out when the NU does not bother to fulfill that responsibility in the first place.

I suggest that if you truly want to be a real journalist who covers the insurance industry, start having the NU act like a real news journal, instead of following merrily along with the rest of the anti-business partisan media crowd. It would be nice if somebody other than Jack Bobo cared about us, our fate, and our proven value to the U.S. public.

If you see that there is a misinformation gap, I do not see why you think it is not your job to fill it. If Pru is on the hot seat and can’t comment directly, that does not mean that your hands are tied from shining a bright light on the subject anyway. You have my complete permission and encouragement to do the job you are supposed to do, which is to level the information playing field. If one or more principals in a conflict cannot give you a direct comment, there is no reason why you cannot obtain valid information and industry perspective on the subject elsewhere from uninvolved third party experts. Fox News does that all the time.

Looking forward to your more engaged and balanced reporting in the near future.

Name Witheld