Hunter has succeeded in building a strong coalition, but he has a tough battle to fight. The insurance lobby has picked a battleground that is inaccessible to most consumer advocates and concerned citizens. The NAIC, an association of state regulators, is heavily influenced by the insurance industry. Both organizations like to hold their meetings in high-class hotels. State officials can afford to be there because their expenses are subsidized, or paid for outright, by the insurance lobbyists' attendance fees.
Hospitality suites abound for the regulators.
And, there is no shortage of insurance industry lobbyists wanting to treat the regulators to fine dinners. Insurance reform has never come easy. Usually, reform has only followed financial failure. The financial panic of 1907 resulted in the Armstrong and Merritt committees in New York. The lingering effects of the Great Depression resulted in the Temporary National Economic Committee investigation.