Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

PBS's NOW with David Brancaccio, in collaboration with Bloomberg Markets magazine, dedicated last Friday's entire episode (23:12) to exposing the underhanded tactics used by the insurance industry to bolster its bottom line at the expense of homeowners. One common tactic involves insurance companies replacing the phrase "guaranteed replacement value" with "extended replacement value" in policies without informing homeowners that the latter will result in a drastic reduction in benefits.

None of this was surprising to John Garamendi, California's Lieutenant Governor and former Insurance Commissioner, who states on camera, "The first commandment of the insurance industry is, 'Thou shalt pay as little, as late, as possible.'"

UPDATE: Video available at the NOW website.

DISCLOSURE: The producer of the NOW piece is a relative of mine.

                 

Article Categories: PBS