NO DooDahs

4 Things I Just Don't Get

Insurance companies which have thrived by suckling at the teat of anti-competitive state regulation - like SAFT - can be very dangerous plays when the state opens somewhat to competition. You're basically making a bet that either (1) another company wants to enter the state through buying renewal rights, or (2) that the company, which is typically inbred and used to the status quo, has enough flexibility to respond to the changes and leverage their market share. I don't think either of those are good bets, but go ahead and play Lotto if you want to. Nobody's gonna buy a company like that for their "systems" or "market knowledge" because the market has changed and the systems are geared towards the OLD way of doing things.

Take a look at Seibels Bruce Group and the South Carolina auto insurance reform as an example of what can happen.