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WASHINGTON (AP) - A consumer group blasted U.S. insurance companies on Monday for charging motorists and homeowners more for coverage, while paying out less, at a time of record-setting profits.
The Consumer Federation of America's insurance director, J. Robert Hunter, accused the biggest players in the industry of "gouging" the public on their way to an estimated combined after-tax profit of nearly $60 billion in 2006.
Hunter's comments followed the release of a study by the federation that showed automobile and home insurers' profits have surged in recent years — despite billions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina and other storms — in part because they have shifted more costs to consumers and taxpayers.
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