Fluff over substance at WLOX. David Vincent thinks Ed Rust is ignorant of what the company he runs is doing

You had to know on the subject of State Farm’s proposed rate increase that someone in the media would display an incredible amount of ignorance and make an ass of themselves. David Vincent of WLOX took the plunge with today’s editorial which at its heart has the premise that Ed Rust and his mafia in Bloomington don’t know what is going on down here. While we’re amused at the insult implied in Vincent’s piece that the man that sits on the Board of Directors of a media heavyweight in McGraw Hill and who runs the nations largest retail insurer in State Farm has no idea what his company has done to the Mississippi Coast, we’re saddened Mr Vincent passed on a more serious treatment of this very serious topic that has hindered the recovery of the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast.

We encourage the top leaders of State Farm to examine the plight of our area first hand and then really question whether such a rate increase is needed. Thousands of South Mississippi residents have been State Farm customers for years and they would like to continue. Our local state farm agents are in the same boat as we are, and really only the messenger in this rate hike.

Top State Farm leaders need to make the trip from Illinois to the coast and not just send in the government relations or public relations pros. We would hope State Farm Insurance Company’s top leaders would come to these hearings and learn the plight of coast residents.

Dave here is a news flash for you buddy, we can’t break wind on Slabbed without the people at Cyveillance taking note and reporting our reporting to corporate security in Bloomington. (Not that we lack visits from State Farm Corporate either)

The insurance sector is fiercely competitive. And in the wake of recent financial setbacks, solvency pressures and governance scandals, it is striving to improve risk management. Concerns facing the industry include growing challenges from regulation, new competitors, technological change and product innovation.

Companies in the industry are clearly innovating technologically. They see the potential in the online channel for maintaining customer loyalty and capturing new markets. In this era of heightened Web security and cyber crime, risk management needs to extend to online operations too.

Protect Confidential Data and Sharpen Operations

We ensure vigilance against unauthorized access to financial, customer, or transactional information — whether it is mandated by Gramm Leach Bliley Act or a state data privacy and notification law, such as CA-1386 to protect the online channel and preserve customer trust and the company brand.

Cyveillance also optimizes agent and franchisee performance and compliance to gain operational efficiencies and cost savings. What’s more Cyber Intelligence can often thwart unexpected legal costs that might be associated with its advanced warning of impending risks.

I don’t think Ed Rust has the sack to attend a public meeting regarding his company’s insurance rate hike here on the coast, especially in light of what they did to their policyholders here after Katrina. And besides, that is what his boy Mike Chaney is for anyhow.

Until lost folks like Dave understand they are dealing with adults that understand exactly what they are doing, they will be useless to finding solutions to the insurance crisis that has engulfed coastal America. Dave and his pollyanna editorial gets an F from the editorial board at Slabbed.

sop