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From Point A to B

Charles M. Chamness | President & CEO, NAMIC

It is no secret that Americans continue their love affair with the automobile. And it seems nothing can rattle the relationship – not the greenhouse effect; not the ever-rising gas prices; not even the growing frustration over increased traffic congestion.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are now more vehicles than people to drive them in the average U.S. household.

Earlier this year, I attended a board meeting at the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety in Ruckersville, Virginia. While there, we witnessed one of the Institute’s now-famous crash-test experiments. The windowless, state-of-the-art facility is stark gray. Although the mammoth laboratory is extraordinarily well lit, it maintains an eerie cold feeling, particularly for those of us who know what’s about to happen. It will be the death of a car.

High above the test site, we watched as the techs pushed and pulled that day’s guinea pig – a $48,000 Mercedes SUV – into the perfect spot pre-determined by a trunk load of mathematical equations. The crash-test dummies were gingerly placed in their seats. Then came the wires. There were more wires leading from the car to IIHS’ computers than Dr. Frankenstein had attached to his creature. The tension mounted for those of us in the gallery.

Then the deafening warning alarms and the human voice announcing “System … (pause) … Charging.” With drill- core precision, the techs left the floor. We tried to prepare ourselves, but nothing can prepare you for this. From a long corridor beneath us shot what can only be described as a crash droid … boom. Impact right on target. As I looked around after the demolition, I could have sworn I saw a tear in the eye of one of the Mercedes engineers who witnessed the destruction.

There are not many Americans who know that the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is the creation of the property/casualty industry. IIHS was conceived in the 70s when the insurance industry decided it could do more to promote vehicle safety. Safer cars resulted in fewer and less severe claims and a reduction in repair costs. Initially, carmakers tried to discredit and downplay the importance of this vitally important organization. However, most soon reached enlightenment, albeit reluctantly, that safety sells. Through the years, others, too, experienced a similar epiphany, and today, auto manufacturers practically design and build their cars to perform well in IIHS’ tests.

While IIHS ensures the safety of our cars, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety works on laws and regulations that help keep our roads safe. This is a very good thing as each year motor vehicle crashes claim more than 42,000 lives and cost Americans more than $230 billion in property loss, medical and emergency bills, productivity loss, and other costs. Advocates is pursuing policies and standards that will mitigate this wasteful tragedy.

Along with insurance representatives, the Advocates board includes the likes of Joan Claybrook of Public Citizen and Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America. Who would have thought that insurance industry execs and some of the most high-profile and committed “consumerists” could sit at the same table to find answers for everything from speed limit laws to truck safety?

Through the devoted work of Advocates, the number of automobile accidents is decreasing, which, in turn, helps the insurance industry. And, again, our industry is front and center with yet another organization founded to protect the American citizenry.

The insurance industry is deeply involved in the safety of America’s cars and roads, and we are also heavily involved in the safety of America’s homes and businesses. The Institute for Business & Home Safety does for personal and commercial building as the IIHS does for automobiles. IBHS’ goal is simple: to protect people, property, and the continuity of business operations through utilizing fortified building processes and preparing for disasters before they strike.

Collaboration is the backbone of our nation, and it is certainly the foundation of our business. Alexander Graham Bell remarked that great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. As true today as it was then.