Trusted Choices

To regulate more or less? That was the question posed to the public by the people at the Harris Poll.

Health insurance, managed care, pharmaceuticals and the oil industry top the list of industries the public feels need more regulation. Computer hardware and software, and supermarkets are seen as least in need of more regulation.

How did the non-health insurance industry fare? Life insurers were in the top 10 of those industries the public thinks could be more closely regulated—right after oil, tobacco and hospitals.

As for the property casualty industry, it was not included. The Harris pollsters did not ask about auto and home insurers at all. The survey was limited to 15 industries. But just because property casualty was excluded, does not mean there are no lessons for the property casualty industry from the survey?

The first lesson is that national pollsters apparently have no clue as to how heavily regulated property casualty insurance is so they do not even bother to inquire about it. To be fair, a Harris spokesperson said she would raise the possibility of including the industry in future polls.

Also, the research suggests that even though people may be critical of government regulation in general, when it comes to safety, health and the environment, they are still likely to favor it.

A major lesson not to be overlooked by foes of regulation: While not many want to see more regulation, very few think there should be less regulation. Indeed, more than half (57 percent) of all adults think that none of the 15 industries in the survey should be less regulated.

The industries trusted more are generally the same ones people feel the least need to regulate. But several of the more trustworthy industries—technology, supermarkets and even the “deregulated” telephone industry—are generally not perceived as being heavily regulated to begin with. Agricultural experts and others regulate the products that supermarkets sell but the grocers themselves aren’t tied up in red tape. Technology firms seem immune to government watchdogs. The fierce competition among telephone companies lends the impression, perhaps misguided, that they are not heavily regulated.

So maybe the final lesson is that the more regulated an industry, the less trust the public has in that industry. Now there’s some unregulated food for thought.

For more on the Harris survey, visit: www.harrisinteractiuve.com.

Topics Agencies Legislation Market