Monday, August 29, 2005

Katrina at New Ruskin College

www.NewRuskinCollege.com


Lecture Notes: CAT

A catastrophe is about to hit New Orleans,’ is what the headlines say.

But you do not know the half of it.

For example if there are $30 billion of insured losses how much money will be deposited into the accounts of the crooked underwriters and insurance company executives and their bag men, the corrupt insurance adjusters and their contractors?

Let’s see. 80% of the claims will be adjusted honestly so that amounts to what, $15 billion of the losses? Most claims are small. (This is true in health insurance also. The president of Blue Cross said that 90% of his claims were under $2,000. (There are implications for our public policy discussion of health care which I will not be able to go over with you.))

So who will get the remaining 20%? The other $15 billion? Who do you think? Many of the smaller companies will assign these files directly to the adjuster. This is the first clue.

And the take? 10%? $1.5 billion in fraud. $750 million to corrupt underwriters and executives who assign the files, and the other $750 million to the adjusters who “document” the loss. This is the second clue. These adjusters will report work schedules which would require them to work 26 hours a day inspecting losses. How do they do it?

Their contractor “friends” “help out.” In Los Angeles I was surprised to learn how many Canadian contractors had immigrated to the United States. Then I realized that they had “come down from the North like wolves” with their “friends” the Canadian adjusters. Thereby the unpaid tax subsidized the claim operation, (resulted in an increase in the earnings of the adjusters).

The insurance companies used the Canadians because they did not have to take withholding taxes from their payments. Independent contractors. Nor did the Canadians report the income to the Canadian government either. (see The IRS and the Illegals from the North at the Moynihan)

And soon they will all be meeting again in Louisiana. GAB Robins, Crawford and Company, all the adjusting companies. Recall for example that Frank Blaha when not harassing me had an adjuster who was given the wind damage claim for a hospital in the Marianas. An adjuster in Concord California given a file in the Marianas Islands? Don’t ask me, ask Mr. DeLay, or that colleague of his, the one that was just indicted.

Now, some may say, ‘well, see here if this is bad as you say surely there must be someone in the insurance companies looking out after things.’ Perhaps now is the time I should explain reinsurance to you? You see if the claims total more than a sum certain, say $500 million for a company like Farmers for example, that means that after paying out its $500 million the reinsurance company pay everything else, including the corruption. Not much of an incentive to be watchful is it?

(Even in normal claims handling the companies have not done their due diligence. Have you never wondered at the body shops being raided by the police? The charge? They were defrauding the companies. Where were the adjusters? That is just the point. The companies now simply pay the body shops without adjusters at all. They have turned it all over to the police, i.e. cost transfer to society, for again, the premiums have all been adjusted, upward, to protect the companies. (And please don’t think the insurance departments are looking out for your interests. They are not.))

Then you might reasonably suppose that the Names at Lloyds will then look into the loss of $1.5 billion. Ah, the Names. They are not what they used to be. Many are in over their heads. Then too just think about our previous lessons. Class, what have we learned here at New Ruskin about market allocation of costs? Yes, Yvonne.

Counselor: The market redistributes all costs through the price mechanism.

So this corruption, this is not the first time is it? The corruption it turns out like taxes, and energy, etc. is just another cost of doing business. The corruption tax has already been collected in the premium. The Names are protected already.

Yet still, they could save $1.5 billion if only . . . if some how . . . but how? That is the question. Possibly some Names might try and band together to demand that Lloyds or . . . or . . . well who? That is the question. The State of Louisiana? They could teach the adjusters a thing or to. Oh, oh, wait a minute, I know, the IRS!

Oh, no, remember I tried that and the IRS gave my name to the very company they had asked me to assist them in “investigating”?

We could tell the President! That some illegals from the North are coming into the country illegally . . . ah, no, I don’t suppose he would care about that or for that matter about the $1.5 billion either.

And if he did what could he do? Direct the IRS to . . . what? Consider that for years billions of dollars are being taken year after year and the IRS has never been able to find the money. Now, in the middle of a storm they are going to go after the very criminals they have helped protect?

No. I do not think the Names are going to find it any easier this time than in any of the other thousands of times that over a billion dollars has been taken from their pockets. Just who do you think is making the assignments? Do you suppose that the honest adjusters are feeding each other files, or does it not sound more likely that the corrupt adjusters will work together? Of course, the corrupt have a common interest, their share of the spoils $750 million.

There will be thousands of jobs created by this catastrophe but do you suppose my phone will ring? Don’t talk to me about free markets, let me instead tell you some truths about your society, and you. For has this corruption not also sprung from the same silence with which you have greeted everything else?

So while this adjuster in San Francisco will be sitting down in front of the KQED building, the corrupt adjusters will be descending on the storm victims.

Ironic. No?

And you? Let me guess. You will say nothing.

You do not want what has been done to me, done to you.

Smart.


www.NewRuskinCollege.com

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