I had the privilege of attending the inauguration ceremony of new California state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in Sacramento on Monday night.
Amongst the new Insurance Commissioner’s top priorities for California is the creation of an educational outreach program that helps educate under-served areas on affordable insurance options.
One such option in California is the California Low Cost Auto Insurance Program. This underutilized program provides low cost auto insurance to low-income drivers with clean driving records.
Insurance is a significant cost for almost any households, but it can hit low-income families especially hard. In some cases insurance costs can bankrupt struggling households, while others go without insurance all together to be able to afford more basic necessities like food and shelter.
Much of what we in the social sector focus on is the creation of new programs in aid of the poor. We’re easily taken by new services, new media, and new ideas. But the fundamentals of what people need; food, shelter, and security, does not change, no matter what we innovate.
While the rate of innovation is seen to some as the pacing of progress, perhaps real progress is slowing the rate of innovation of ideas in favor of innovating around solid program delivery. We would take a giant step forward if we were better at making people aware of what is available to them in the first place.
The Power of Information
Information is important. Companies like Google and Facebook do not create new products per se. Instead they develop information portals that more quickly connect us to people and products.
These companies are important not because they create our friends, but because they help us find them. They are important because they make finding a new book we are looking for more accessible, not because they provide the book itself.
So too is the simple act of connecting low-income individuals to services. Obviously you need to have a service available in order to connect someone to it, and while there is clearly a lot more we can do as a society, there is also a lot that we do provide that goes underutilized.
My own company works on this very issue, partnering with government and nonprofits to develop databases that connect people to services they have a right to receive. These partnerships enable thousands of individuals and families to get connected to services every month that they might not otherwise known about.
I’m glad California’s new Insurance Commissioner is taking the proactive step of reaching out to low-income families and educating them about their options. And while insurance is important, it’s not everything.
The social sector would be wise to follow the Commissioner’s lead and dedicate more time not only to creating new services, but getting the word out to those in need.
Photo credit: Thomas Hawk