Get to the Polls

Let’s turn the tables this issue and instead of regurgitating our own or somebody else’s opinion, let’s take a look at yours.

Insurance Journal carries a regular poll on its Web site. We ask questions on agency management, markets, the economy, regulation and more. Questions run the gamut from whether agencies have had to lay off employees or if flood insurance should cover wind to how producers feel about the current non-resident producer licensing system to whether the New York Insurance Exchange will succeed if it is revived. The poll appears down the right column on the Web site, www.insurancejournal.com, and most questions gets hundreds of responses, sometimes thousands.

One of the characteristics of this feature is that it’s very straightforward. Readers are forced to choose — typically yes or no — or select from an abbreviated menu of choices. There’s no room for comments, explanations or nuance. Also, there’s no telling how many of the responders are from the Golden State, the Sunshine State or the Empire State. There’s no way of knowing if they hail from the Windy City, Motor City or Sin City. Also, all responses are confidential.

We don’t pretend that this is scientific — we have little control over who visits the Web site and completes the polls. But they sometimes debunk myths and raise doubts about assumptions. For example, insurance professionals believe government involvement in insurance is bad, right? Maybe, maybe not. Check out these polls:

Government may have a bigger role than some think but it still should know its place:

Also, the insurance workforce has been relatively protected from the effects of the recession, right? Tell that to those who have lost jobs:

One more— the industry supports insurers’ use of credit scores, right?

These are not scientific polls, but they are interesting and force us to think about issues. What would make them more interesting would be if not just the answers but the questions came from you, our readers. If you’ve got a question you’d like polled, shoot me an e-mail. Keep questions brief and ask it in such a way that yes and no, or limited multiple choice answers, are possible. Send yours to kstonge@insurancejournal.com. Any questions?