CEJ's May 1997 report - Worst Redliners Identified: Department of Insurance Fails to Act - analyzed and reported individual insurer behavior. Table 8, which excerpts some information from that report, shows how market monitoring data can be used to examine insurers' market practices. For the companies shown in Table 8, they sell far fewer policies - as a percentage of all policies sold - in minority neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods. Since the denial of coverage in standard and preferred companies is alleged to be based upon driver risk and driving record, the Table 8 results raise serious questions. Do bad drivers decide to live together in minority neighborhoods? Or are insurers systematically denying standard and preferred coverage to consumers in poor and minority neighborhoods? Market monitoring data can be used to produce information similar to that of Tables 7 and 8 and can be used to demand accountability from insurance companies and the regulators responsible for enforcing anti-redlining statutes.

Copies of these reports can be obtained from CEJ at 1704 1/2 South Congress, Suite P, Austin, TX 78703. Call (512) 312-1327 or www.cej-online.org.

Rate Filings. In those states that require insurance companies to make rate filings and justify the filed rates with supporting data and actuarial analysis, the rate filings contain a tremendous amount of company-specific statistical data. Typically, the rate filing will contain information on most, or all, of the topics discussed in Section 4, above. Rate filings typically contain a wealth of information about the insurance company's rates, discounts, loss experience, and other items.

Rate filings can generally be obtained by simply requesting a copy from the insurance department. However, the ease of obtaining a copy of a rate filing varies dramatically across states. Of the largest states, Texas is the most consumer-friendly for getting a copy of a rate filing. As of the date of this report, most rate filings can be obtained within ten days of requesting a copy of the rate filing at a cost of ten cents per page copied. Since many rate filings run hundreds of pages, the ten cents per page cost is a relative bargain. In contrast, the California Department of Insurance will only make rate filings available for public viewing and will not make copies. There are some businesses that will take a portable copier or scanner to the Public Viewing Room and provide copies for $1.00 per page. On the positive side, one service - RateFilings.com - can provide the rate filings in electronic format with great convenience. On the negative side, the cost of rate filings is very expensive at $1.00 per page. Unlike almost every other state, the New York State Insurance Department will not release copies of rate filings until the filings have been reviewed and/or approved. In Texas and California, the rate filings are available to the public within days of receipt by the insurance department. In addition, the NY SID is notoriously slow about responding to Open Records requests for information from the public.

NAIC State Average Expenditures & Premiums for Personal Automobile Insurance and NAIC Homeowners Average Premium Reports. The NAIC publishes two reports of average premiums paid by consumers - one for personal automobile insurance and one for homeowners insurance. The homeowners report is far more detailed, providing average premium broken out by value of property and particular property coverage. The homeowners report also provides market share within a state by type of policy coverage.

The reports are available from the NAIC Publications Department, (816) 374-7259 telephone. Internet Site: www.naic.org. The auto report is $35 and the homeowners report is $75.

Fast Track Data. Fast Track data are loss trend data collected by the industry-sponsored or industry-owned statistical agents. What makes the Fast Track data unique and useful is its timeliness - the data are available quarterly within three months after the end of the calendar quarter. Typically, there is a much longer lag time between the end of a reporting period and the availability of statistical data about that reporting period. The Fast Track data are limited to earned exposures (earned car years or earned house years), paid losses, paid claims, earned premiums, and incurred losses. The data are available by major coverage and include a four-year quarterly time series.

Fast Track data can be useful for evaluating loss trends for particular coverages in a state or countrywide. Caution should be used with Fast Track data since the data represent only a portion of companies operating within a state. In some instances, the share of the market represented by the Fast Track data is less than 30%. Some states may get Fast Track data from the statistical agents and make the data available for public inspection. Contact your state insurance department to see if they get Fast Track data. Otherwise contact Joseph M. Izzo, Manager of Personal Lines Information, Insurance Services Office, Phone: (212) 898-5985, Fax: (212) 898-6060 E-Mail: jizzo@iso.com. Cost is about $250 per quarter.

NAIC Auto Database. Periodically the NAIC publishes a compendium of information related to automobile insurance, including information by state about auto insurance premiums and losses and the cost of auto insurance, such as hospitalization charges, auto theft and accident rates, and insurance and traffic laws. Since the database report is not updated annually, be sure that the version you order contains recent information. The report may be useful for debunking some insurer allegations about insurance cost drivers. The reports are available from the NAIC Publications Department, (816) 374-7259 telephone. Internet Site: www.naic.org. Cost is $75.

Pay By the Mile Studies. The National Organization of Women has an insurance project examining insurance discrimination against women. They have produced a series of studies promoting auto insurance priced according to the amount of miles driven. The studies are good examples of how to peel away the veneer of insurance actuarial jargon and lay bare the facts. Contact Patrick Butler, (202) 331-0066 x 727, Internet site: www.now.org.

HLDI Auto Crash Information. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) is, according to their own words, "a nonprofit, public service organization that gathers, processes, and publishes data on the ways in which insurance losses vary among different kinds of vehicles." It is closely associated with and funded through the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is wholly supported by automobile insurers. The IIHS Internet Site (www.carsafety.org) contains information on injury, collision, theft and driver death by type of vehicle. Mailing address: 1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22201. Telephone: (703) 247-1600, Fax: (703) 247-1595.

Periodicals. Several insurance trade periodicals routinely provide statistical studies. Best's Review is a monthly magazine published by the A.M. Best Company. An annual subscription is $20 for 12 issues. Much of the content is available on the A. M. Best Internet Site. Best Week is a weekly newsletter published by A. M. Best and often includes statistical studies and other analyses. Annual subscription is many hundreds of dollars, but the weekly lead story and special studies are available on the A. M. Best Internet Site: www.ambest.com.

The Auto Insurance Report and Property Insurance Report are published by Risk Information, Inc. These reports provide insider market information on auto and property insurance markets nationally and by state. The editor and publisher, Brian Sullivan, often includes detailed statistical abstracts of Page 15 data and from other sources. Contact Risk Information, Inc., at 33 Lindall Street, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677-4738. (949) 443-1983 telephone, (949) 443-0331 fax. The Auto Report is $647 annually for 48 issues and the Property Report is $427 for 24 issues. If you cannot afford the publication, your state insurance department may subscribe and make the publication available for viewing.

Technical Studies - The Casualty Actuarial Society. The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is the professional organization for property casualty actuaries. The CAS administers a series of examinations to qualify actuaries for membership in the American Academy of Actuaries. The CAS also holds regular meetings to present and discuss research and other issues of interest to actuaries. The CAS Internet Site (www.casact.org ) has an extensive library of actuarial articles and proceedings from meetings available for free downloading. The Proceedings of the CAS contain articles that often form the basis for actuarial practice.

Also available for downloading are the Actuarial Standards of Practice, Actuarial Statements of Principles, and Actuarial Standards of Compliance. The Statement of Principles Regarding Property and Casualty Ratemaking sets out the framework for ratemaking by CAS members. Standards of Practice address particular tasks faced by CAS members and include:

• Performing Cash Flow Testing for Insurers
• Documentation and Disclosure in Property and Casualty Insurance
• Ratemaking, Loss Reserving, and Valuations
• Concerning Risk Classification
• Trending Procedures in Property/Casualty Insurance Ratemaking
• Data Quality
• Expense Provisions in Property/Casualty Insurance Ratemaking
• Treatment of Profit and Contingency Provisions and the Cost of Capital in Property/Casualty Insurance Ratemaking

It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of the membership (and leadership) of the CAS are actuaries who work directly or indirectly for insurance companies. Perhaps as a result of the economic interests of the members' employers, the Standards of Practice are typically developed to provide a great deal of flexibility to the actuary and to place a great emphasis on the actuary's judgment. It is not uncommon to hear an actuary defend a particular opinion in a rate hearing by simply citing many years of experience.

Contact the CAS at 1100 North Glebe Road, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22201 (703) 276-3100 phone, (703) 276-3108 fax. Internet Site: www.casact.org.

Technical Studies - Rand Corporation. Research into a variety of issues related to automobile or homeowners insurance is conducted by a variety of organizations, typically funded by the insurance industry. The Rand Corporation Institute for Civil Justice (www.rand.org/centers/icj) performs various studies on automobile injury compensation. Research is used extensively by advocates of no-fault auto insurance and so-called auto choice insurance.

Other Insurance Data. The category of other data sources covers everything other than financial data and statistical data. Other types of insurance data include:

• Closed Claim Studies
• Reports to or by Legislatures
• Consumer Complaints
• Underwriting Guidelines

Closed Claim Studies. A closed claim report is a detailed report of the characteristics of claims that have been fully paid and closed by the insurance company. Closed claim reports are typically only provided for liability claims because the liability claims are more likely than property damage claims to take longer to settle, involve attorneys for the insured or the insurance company, and have larger settlement amounts. One state - Texas - requires all insurance companies to file closed claim reports on all commercial liability closed claims greater than $10,000. The Texas Department of Insurance compiles the closed claim data and makes the compilations available on its Internet Web Site.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has asked the Insurance Services Office to develop a closed claim report for liability claims on a periodic basis - generally every three years. ISO collects closed claim reports for a sample of closed claims from insurers who volunteer to participate. ISO compiles the results into a report and publishes the report under the supervision of the NAIC. The NAIC / ISO closed claim survey is useful because the results can be tracked over time. The underlying data are not available to the public, as they are in Texas. As with the Texas data, the NAIC / ISO closed claim data provide no information on personal lines. The ISO Internet Site contains extended excerpts from the NAIC/ISO Closed Claim studies: www.iso.com/docs/studies.htm.

The Insurance Research Council was created, and is funded completely, by the insurance industry to produce various studies and research considered useful by the insurance industry. The IRC has produced three closed claim studies for private passenger automobile liability insurance. The usefulness of the IRC studies is tempered by the facts that the IRC data are not available for independent review and that the IRC reports are generally produced to promote a particular political agenda of the insurance industry.

For example, the IRC has conducted closed claim studies for automobile insurance bodily injury claims. The title of one study reveals the organization's bias, Fraud and Buildup in Auto Injury Claims: Pushing the Limits of the Auto Insurance System. Another study, Homeowners Losses Patterns in Eight Cities was an effort to disprove redlining by homeowners insurers. It is important for consumer advocates to be able to respond to "studies", such as those from the IRC, that have been prepared to serve the interests of the insurance industry. Contact IRC, 718 Providence Rd., P.O. Box 3025, Malvern, PA 19355-0725, Internet Site: www.ircweb.org.

Reports to, or by, Legislatures. Legislative committees and/or legislative research organizations often perform research into particular insurance issues. Contact your State Legislative Library or State House (or Senate) Research Organization, particularly in the larger states such as California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Consumer Complaints. One of the primary roles of state insurance departments is to accept and respond to consumer complaints about insurance companies and insurance agents. Although insurance departments are limited in the assistance they can actually provide consumers who feel they have been wronged by a company or agent, the insurance departments generally maintain logs of the complaints. If the insurance department is doing a good job of tracking complaints, a consumer advocate can visit the insurance department and research complaints against a particular company or complaints in a particular area, such as slow claims payment.