The terms "Big Data", "Data Mining" and "Price Optimization" are all the buzz in insurance circles and among state insurance regulators.  They, non-profit consumer advocates, the private bar and the Federal Insurance Office are all diving in to whether the massive amount of personal data that's now available to insurance companies is tipping the scales away from the bests interests of consumers and the healthy spread of risk.

Insurers used to pick from 90 rating classifications such as your driving record, address, age and vehicle. Now they can pick from thousands of them....

UP and the consumer advocate community have been fighting for decades against mandatory arbitration wording in banking and other commercial contracts that force people to use private binding arbitration instead of public courts to resolve disputes.  Although some health insurance and most commercial property policies contain mandatory arbitration clauses, you won't find them in home insurance policies and UP is working to keep it that way.  

As soon as we heard about a new Texas Farm Bureau home insurance policy under review that dangles a...