R Street Institute

"Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, one factor likely to impact the insurance industry, and worthy of keeping a weather eye on, is the impact of the second Trump administration. There have already been negative consequences arising from job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA’s satellite data and reports on weather and climate patterns are used as inputs for climate models used by insurers to calculate catastrophe budgets, for example. The data supplied by NOAA is so valuable that five of the climate research experts out of the 18 discussed in R Street’s 'The Truth About Natural Catastrophes' study are from NOAA. A further source of concern for insurers is the presence of plaintiff trial lawyers in key administration positions. For example, RFK Jr. is of counsel at plaintiff bar giant Morgan & Morgan, having been previously on the firm’s payroll. Notwithstanding a March 22 presidential memo targeting Big Law firms, Donald Trump’s own personal and business history suggests he is no enemy of frivolous litigation, having been involved in an estimated 4,000 lawsuits, both as plaintiff and defendant. We may therefore see a torrent of litigation, with some impact on liability insurance. Insurance industry results in 2024 were strong. Investors maintain confidence in insurers’ managing their business. The S&P Composite 1500 Property & Casualty Insurance Index has returned 7.52% this year, an impressive performance given the blood running down Wall Street in recent weeks. However, with chaos in Washington likely to impact insurers, fasten your seatbelts because there may be turbulence ahead." Jerry Theodorou Insurance Journal #insurance #government #finance https://lnkd.in/e4w4YMYu

"While some provisions might point in the right direction, Trump is making a critical error in pushing these measures through an EO rather than pursuing a more durable and decentralized solution via legislation. As a result, the order moves our country toward a more top-down election system and sets a dangerous, destabilizing precedent for future executive action." Matthew Germer #election #government #Policy https://lnkd.in/e-bg3XR8

"The administration’s proposed cuts to HIV prevention and treatment are ironic, given that such programs were a priority during President Donald J. Trump’s first term. In his 2019 State of the Union address, Trump announced the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) plan with the goal of decreasing new infections by 75 percent by 2025 and 90 percent by 2030. EHE increased funding for HIV-related programs—programs that the Trump administration is now rumored to be putting on the chopping block. Although slashing domestic HIV funding is being framed as a cost-saving measure, years of data provide evidence of taxpayer savings. Moreover, although evaluating progress toward the EHE goals is tricky because HIV data lags by several years (the most current data on PrEP usage and new HIV diagnoses is from 2022 and 2023, respectively), we can say confidently that we are making progress toward ending the HIV epidemic. But we may not reach the EHE goals on the ambitious timeline laid out by the president during his former administration. The possibility of not reaching the EHE timeline targets is not a reason to back down from its goals, however. When it comes to eliminating infectious diseases, progress is almost always slow. Consider the fact that only two infections, smallpox and rinderpest, have ever been eradicated and, despite active efforts since 1988, polio is still not eradicated worldwide. Not to mention the resurgence of measles due to decreased vaccination rates. That said, we are making real progress on HIV. PrEP usage has increased and estimated new HIV infections are declining. What we are doing is working." Chelsea Boyd, M.S. Jessica Shortall #disease #policy #government https://lnkd.in/eBHutKMR

"These developments in Virginia and Texas represent a potentially important turning point in AI policy because these other states have been considering regulatory measures that adopt a European Union (EU)-style approach to AI regulation. These moves by Virginia and Texas also better align state AI policy with a new national focus on AI opportunity and investment, which is particularly important in the wake of major recent Chinese advances in this field." Adam Thierer #ai #artificialintelligence #publicpolicy https://lnkd.in/eJxwpRzT

“'If passed, SB 222 would be overlaying disaster on top of disaster,' says my insurance-expert colleague at the R Street Institute, Jerry Theodorou. 'The impact of a natural disaster is bad enough. A bill that encourages subrogation against power and utility providers is gasoline poured on a fire. A lose-lose-lose proposition for power providers, insurers and ordinary consumers.' California’s economy would suffer if its insurance industry keeps fleeing, so imagine what it will be like if oil companies are further incentivized to pull back production. This bill is particularly amazing given that California Democrats — most notably Gov. Gavin Newsom — have been bloviating about the state’s highest-in-the-nation gas prices. Those are driven by their own regulatory and tax policies, but it’s always more fun to hold press conferences and special legislative sessions railing against price gouging and supposed corporate greed." Steven Greenhut #climate #publicpolicy #wildfires

"These state bills look to create the equivalent of AI pre-crime divisions, with bureaucrats empowered to preemptively sniff out examples of potentially unfair or 'biased' AI-generated outputs for applications that have not yet even been deployed. 'Algorithmic impact assessments' will be required for “consequential decisions” to ensure AI systems are “in the public interest. Imagine if similar vague, technocratic mandates had been imposed by 50 different state internet bureaus at the dawn of the personal computing age. America’s digital technology revolution would have fizzled. Luckily, in the mid-1990s, policymakers instead opted for a pro-freedom paradigm for internet and digital commerce, and America experienced an outpouring of innovation and speech opportunities. The key to this was a policy regime that protected the digital marketplace from state and local over-regulation. Similarly, Congress should comprehensively preempt state and local AI regulations that impinge upon interstate algorithmic commerce and speech. Even Colorado’s Polis has called for Congress to craft 'a needed cohesive federal approach . . . to limit and preempt varied compliance burdens on innovators and ensure a level playing field across state lines.'” The Hill Adam Thierer #tech #techpolicy #congress #publicpolicy

"HB1291 imposes a series of extreme mandates on transportation network companies, including dash cameras, fingerprint-based background checks every six months, live biometric verification for every ride, and mandatory audio and video recording with an opt-out choice. These regulations come with significant costs and privacy concerns, and they fail to acknowledge that rideshare companies already have robust safety measures in place." Jillian Snider #publicpolicy #criminaljustice #colorado

How can we empower consumers and drive innovation in the electricity sector? This analysis from Devin Hartman for National Affairs highlights how embracing competition and #EnergyChoice can modernize the grid, lower costs, and give consumers more control ?? ?? R Street Institute Dive deeper: https://lnkd.in/eTRFk7Jh

"The upshot is that policy is ultimately vulnerable to politics, and the SCC is a good example of how significant policies like climate regulations are ultimately beholden to political realities. But it would behoove policymakers, as well as external analysts, to recognize that making policy effective rather than political requires credibility. The SCC value underpins any claim of climate regulation benefits, so it must be held to an exceptionally high standard." Philip Rossetti #energy #energypolicy #carbon