Loaded
for bear: the Sternberg family's Starmount life
is finding its mark in a market filled with insurance
titans
Starmount Life Insurance Co. may not
be slaying giants, but it's definitely giving them a run
for their money. And that, says company chairman Hans Sternberg,
is a lot of fun. A small firm compared to many of its competitors--companies
like Metlife and AIG--Starmount is more flexible and quicker
on its feet."Being nimble, being quick, getting our
pricing competitive: It makes it a good game," Sternberg
says. "And when we get a big case, it's a cause for
celebration for everybody in this company.
"A "big case" is landing a client with 2,000-plus employees. Most of the employer groups Starmount provides insurance for are 50 to 100 people, though some clients have as many as 6,000 employees. Starmount has a total of more than 200,000 enrollees.Starmount began in 1983 as Maison Blanche Insurance Co., which served the customers of the Sternberg family's Maison Blanche chain of department stores.The Sternbergs sold the chain in 1992 and rechristened the insurance company. The insurance company started from there with seven employees. Now it has more than 100.
"He suggests that the most promising target for regulatory
cost savings is medical liability reform, maintaining that
system imposes costs of $113,700,000,000 but provides benefits
amounting to just $33,000,000,-000. Conover adds that other
ways to reduce excess costs would be to deregulate the Food
and Drug Administration, health insurance (e.g., continuation-of-coverage
impositions and mandated health benefits), and health facilities
(e.g., accreditation and licensure).
