Letters: Insurance rates | County executive | Climate catastrophe
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Flat rates are driving
insurers from state
Insurance is needed to protect individuals and families from financial ruin and it is the catalyst for businesses to provide products and services that drive our economy.
The Department of Insurance feels that they are doing the insurance-buying public a favor by not approving requested rate increases and driving carriers to cease providing coverage here in California. This normally highly competitive industry is seeing companies drop out of the state, and costs are soaring as buyers must look to non-admitted carriers like Lloyds of London.
The primary responsibility of the insurance commissioner is to make sure that we have a robust insurance market and that rates are not excessive or inadequate.
Maybe, just maybe, the Department of Insurance will come to its senses and realize that competition and available coverage is how this system delivers quality coverage at a competitive price. Let’s fix this now.
Tom Quirk
CEO, Garland-Sturges & Quirk Insurance Services
San Jose
New county executive
mishandled book scandal
Re: “Meet the county’s new top executive” (Page B1, July 24).
Notwithstanding the puff piece about new County Executive James Williams, there are serious questions about his judgment.
The Mercury News reported that his predecessor Jeff Smith awarded Jean McCorquodale, wife of former state Sen. Dan McCorquodale, a no-bid contract to write a book on county history despite her having no experience in book writing or publishing. Her draft was plagiarized and she submitted phony invoices costing the county over $1 million. The project was canceled, but Williams, in his prior position as county counsel, dropped legal actions against McCorquodale, allowing her to keep the money. His justification? The expense to pursue legal action.
Clearly, certain people, if well-connected, are above the law. Besides, it’s just taxpayer’s money. This does not bode well for the taxpayers who pay the bills.
John Carr
San Jose
Now is the time to deal
with climate change
So you’re having an adventure, driving off-road across Death Valley in your Jeep, when you hear a strange noise coming from the engine. It’s getting louder and louder.
Your solution: turn up the radio.
This seems to be a common response to the climate catastrophe.
The first step in solving (or at least attacking) a problem is recognizing it exists. Global warming is an Earth-wide issue, and the only way we can effectively address it is by involving Earth’s decision-makers, who disproportionately reside in the United States.
Unfortunately, the majority of our decision-makers (politicians) work for their donors, not ordinary citizens, and the donors are happy with the status quo because they’re raking in the cash, so it’s up to ordinary citizens to change things.
The world’s best scientists have been sounding the alarm for decades, and it’s time we listen. We owe it to our children.
Don Eggleston
Aptos