Federal regulation of insurance, etc.

I've had a number of stories by Becky Mowbray of the New Orleans Times-Picayune sitting around in my feedreader waiting for me to find time to comment. Between the day job and the Trailer Lawyers, it's been difficult, but I can sneak some of them in here. -- This Mowbray story is about federal regulation of insurance, as opposed to the current state system. It's interesting that opponents of federal regulation claim it would amount to deregulation, which of course by that they mostly mean deregulation of rates. Consumer advocates counter that "optional federal charter" is code for deregulation, and there's nothing in it for policyholders. In their lobbying, deep-pocketed insurers would make sure that a federal system would resemble the most deregulated state sys