Speaking last week, District of Columbia commissioner of insurance Lawrence H. "Larry" Mirel said authorities should take a more "rational," measured approach to investigations of alleged abuses such as bid rigging. In remarks before the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America's inaugural national conference reported by A.M. Best, Mirel said of the allegations being pursued by the New York state Attorney General's office that if those alleged to have committed wrongdoing “actually committed a crime, they should be prosecuted, and if they're convicted, put in jail.” But Mirel found fault with settlements that are often entered into in which a company admits no wrongdoing. “"So who pays? The policyholders or the stockholders, ultimately, neither of whom are guilty of anything," he said."It's a little bit like piracy, it seems to me.”

November 2, 2004