It's not often that a law review article has such obvious practical, down-to-earth information that its substance migrates to the mainstream media even before publication, but that's what's happened with University of Minnesota law professor Daniel Schwarcz's article "Reevaluating Standardized Insurance Policies." Soon to be published in the University of Chicago Law Review, the article says that despite widespread consumer presumptions that homeowner insurance policies are basically all alike, what were once standardized provisions have evolved into a plethora of significant deviations. According to Schwarcz the deviations, which mostly decrease the amount of coverage relative to the presumptive industry standard, are so widespread that even informed and vigilant consumers are unable to comparison shop among carriers on the basis of differences in coverage. He calls for state insurance commissioners to help make the contracts more transparent, and according to a story in the New York Times, has gotten some traction with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Here's a preview of the article. (PDF)
