There's no competition in the title insurance industry! Yes there is!

California's new Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner, apparently wants to surround himself with advisors with a wide range of views. After getting some flak for appointing a former insurance industry lobbyist, William Gausewitz, as his special counsel, Poizner today announced the rest of his executive staff. The lineup includes Gary Cohen, a Democrat who helped draft a proposed $1 billion title insurance rate rollback and cap last year, as general counsel (Poizner backs the plan to cap rates). The California Escrow Institute last week blasted Cohen in a press release, saying he, Poizner's predecessor John Garamendi, and economist Birny Birnbaum "completely failed to understand the fiercely competitive nature of the escrow industry in California." Birnbaum is the author of a study commissioned by Garamendi that alleged a lack of competition in the title insurance and escrow business. (And yes, that's former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld standing in for Poizner in the picture, and it's up to you to decide whether to cast Gausewitz and Cohen as the devil or the angel).
--Matt Carter, Inman News

All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.