He wants every person who buys an insurance policy to be handed, before they sign, a one-page document explaining in plain English what it is they are buying. He wants assurances that insurance salespeople are properly trained and monitored. Given that insurance is mostly a provincial but sometimes a federal concern, he wants some oversight or co-ordination. And he wants independent, consumer-friendly ways of settling disputes. As for the public, he strongly advises anyone buying insurance to hire an independent financial adviser.
Insurance is much, much too complex for the consumer to understand.
Podmore is convinced that insurance is deliberately confusing and that sales agents prey on emotions. Understanding Podmore's transformation into a crusader requires a bit of history. Sold for about 15 years, they required larger monthly premiums than a standard-term policy, but for a shorter period of time. Podmore was about seven or eight years into a policy that he thought would require 10 to 12 years of premiums. When he got his letter, he struggled to find out how many more years he would have to pay.