Thursday, December 08, 2022

SMITHBITS - "More Appropriately" Progressive Insurance Agent Acts like Nazi Insurance Police

APACHE JUNCTION AZ [IFS] -- As a family member of mine was attempting to transfer their Progressive Insurance Policy to Arizona, the Progressive Agent requested this writer's information and if I were a policyholder and that I had an account with them.

Indirectly, Progressive forced me to sign up with them and is now-- according to their information -- going to sell my personal information to anyone that wants it. "...This is just going to get ugly," vows Kenneth Howard Smith, SmithBits Magazine Founder and once intern student, Don Martin School of Broadcasting, co-host, and side-kick with the late great Captain Don Imus MSNBC, in the late days of 1960's radio at KUTY-AM - Palmdale California.

Smith's strange inquiry and the abusiveness of the agent would come to verbal fisticuffs and very dirty words. "This agent crossed her source of questioning that the police would not ask a criminal.

"Her mouth can not cover her ass, with Smith adding, "...Never slap Me in the mouth because I will eat your lunch." In high school, Smith's nickname was "Thumper" he later went from Vietnam to law school and fighting with pen and paper just makes his day.

Smith, a software engineer from 1997 to 1999 -- Paul Allen's "High-Speed Access" which became Charter, was one of the developers of the HTML code that "Pinged telephone nodes" creating one of the first VoIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol standards with 802.XX tunneling for the first time. Smith was AOL's first webmaster who would later go on to the old GTE/Verizon as its' webmaster.

Smith further added that Progressive Insurance Agent's scope of her job exceeds her ability. The only satisfaction would be, the scene from the movie classic, "The Gambler From Natchez" Starring Dale Robertson, where dueling is a pleasant way to settle disputes.

It was as if, this writer was applying for a policy with this company, and by verbal force and intimidation. - KHS

As midterm elections ramp up, the barrage of texts, emails, and other forms of digital outreach has too. Companies that supply campaigns with mountains of personal data on potential voters are a unique facet of American elections, and campaigns and super PACs spend millions of dollars each cycle for intel on voters they hope to reach.

In 2020, federal campaigns, super PACs and special interest groups paid data brokers over $23 million to access veritable treasure troves of data on millions of Americans. As the 2022 midterm elections gear up, OpenSecrets has already tracked about $6 million in payments to brokers from federal candidates and super PACs.

Increased pressure on state and federal legislators to implement regulations to protect user data and restrict the sale of user information could pose a serious roadblock to political groups relying on data brokers to build their campaigns. Politicians and operatives from across the political spectrum rely on data provided by brokers to craft campaign strategies, a strong disincentive to regulate the tool that could give their campaign an edge in the near-constant race for reelection.

Defining “data brokers”

Several factors suggest the total price politicians and PACs pay third-party brokers for voter data is likely higher than the expenditures analyzed by OpenSecrets.

OpenSecrets used state registration records to compile a list of over 600 brokers then searched for matches in expenditure data drawn from Federal Election Commission filings. Vermont and California are the only two states that require these third-party data brokers to register with their respective secretaries of state, which means brokers operating outside those areas may be excluded from our analysis.

The total money cited only captures spending on “third-party” brokers, companies that collect, group and sell data on people — often without their consent.

The Vermont law defines a data broker as “a business, or unit or units of a business, separately or together, that knowingly collects and sells or licenses to third parties the brokered personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship.”

Our methodology excluded powerhouses such as Meta, the rebranded parent company of Facebook, and Google that are not required to register in Vermont or California because they sell data from users signed up to access services. NGP Van, a private company that sells voter data to the Democratic Party, candidates, and nonprofits, also does not appear on the list, although it received more than $28 million from political groups during the 2020 election.

Leading the field

During the 2020 election cycle, 37 data brokers raked in at least $23 million. The chart below lays out the top 10 recipients of federal campaign expenditures.

What is usage-based insurance?

Usage-based insurance (UBI) helps align your auto policy's cost with your driving habits. While auto insurers have traditionally used factors such as your age, location, and motor vehicle report in determining your risk for an accident, usage-based insurance helps calculate your rate for auto insurance by analyzing how often and how safely you drive. Optional UBI programs are offered by many auto insurers and can be mutually beneficial — you may earn a rate reduction and your insurer uses the data to "more appropriately" price your policy. - Progressive Insurance

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/04/the-third-party-brokers-who-make-millions-selling-your-data-to-political-groups/

Customer satisfaction and complaints

Progressive has lower than average auto claims satisfaction scores, ranking particularly low at 862 out of 1,000, according to a J.D. Power survey. For context, the industry baseline for auto claims satisfaction clocks in at 880.

While these scores are low, Progressive customers are generally very satisfied with their digital experience, according to another J.D. Power survey. Progressive ranks second in this category among all large car insurers, just behind Geico, which has won two Webbys for its digital infrastructure (tough competition to beat!).

Here's the biggest thorn in Progressive's side: the number of complaints it receives nationally. According to the NAIC's complaint index, Progressive is indexed at 1.23, meaning that it receives more complaints than the industry average.

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/insurance/auto/progressive-car-insurance-review/

Monday, December 05, 2022

Kary Mullis - Dancing Naked In A Mind Field - The Book

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Dancing Naked in the Mind Field
By: Kary Mullis, 2000

Kary Mullis was a brilliant chemist and researcher. He developed the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique which redefined the world of DNA, genetics, and forensic science for the world today. This won him a nobel prize. He writes with passion and humor about a wide range of topics: from global warming to the O. J. Simpson trial, from poisonous spiders to HIV, and much more. Dancing Naked in the Mind Field challenges us to question the authority of scientific dogma even as it reveals the workings of an uncannily original scientific mind.

Book of the Month Archive