Consumerism and Insurance

Abstract

The mid-1960's ushered in the age of the consumer-a consumer concerned with the quality of his environment and his relationship to the industries which were providing him with the material goods needed for his standard of living. The maelstrom of social, economic, and political evolution brought pressure upon virtually every industry. The insurance industry was no exception. The insurance man and his industry now feel bedeviled at the phenomenon of consumerism, that great latterday natural force, somewhat like the Black Plague, that has fallen on us from the troubled heavens. It is apparent to us that some of the other industries are not behaving themselves properly, but it surely is not necessary to point the finger of accusation at the insurance industry. Thus, when the Subcommittee on Commerce and Finance of the United States House of Representatives Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee considered the Consumer Protection Act of 1969 (H.R. 14931) and when the Subcommittee for Consumers of the United States Senate Commerce Committee, considered a companion bill (S. 3201), the insurance trade associations cried out in dismay that consumer protection may be necessary,