Yep, that’s right. ABC is
starting the American Bail Agent Coalition. Remember when I wrote about the new
communications guy they hired? Well, this same guy’s job description is also to
try to build a bridge between agents and the insurance companies. And for that
reason, you should really look at this thing with some hefty skepticism. Because
he’s not really a bail agent anymore – he’s now on the insurance payroll.
I’ve been telling agents for
years that the insurance companies aren’t doing their agents any favors. And
think about it – they never have. Over the decades these companies have made
sure agents take all the risk and cover all the losses. As I’ve often said,
it’s like the mafia, with agents dropping bags of money on the porches of the
insurance companies. The insurance companies are now spending all that
agent-earned money to fight everything, because when a company makes money for
doing literally nothing, any change to the status quo means losing money (and that
money probably isn’t just sitting in a pile waiting to be used; it’s probably
going to some pretty cushy insurance executive salaries). But, really, what has
all the fighting gotten you so far?
I’ve checked out the ABAC
Facebook page, and you really don’t have to bother. The same guy running the US
Bail Reform page is obviously doing this one and ABC’s, and so it’s got all the
same posts. Mostly it has the usual – “Look at this dangerous guy RELEASED ON A
PINKY PROMISE!” stories.
It’s also got a funny picture
that repeats the words “public safety” over and over. Really, the inherent lack
of concern over public safety is the one thing doing the most damage to your
industry, and saying the words “public safety” over and over won’t change that.
Once people look into it and see that you can’t forfeit money for new crimes,
they quickly see that whatever the industry says about public safety is
disingenuous. ABC, PBUS, ABAC, and all the people behind those other bogus
websites and pages out there would gladly release that really dangerous guy if
he only had a few hundred bucks, and so it’s clear that the bail industry and public
safety aren’t even really a thing. No wonder the ABAC page has to repeat it so
much – even it doesn’t believe it.
Look, the guy that ABC hired
used to be an agent, but now he’s an insurance guy being paid insurance money
to convince you to agree to the insurance company strategy. And don’t be
fooled. PBUS isn’t here for the individual agent, either. If it were, it
would’ve figured out a long time ago how to keep from sending the insurance
companies all that money so that they can do absolutely nothing. And it
would’ve pretty quickly seen that fighting literally everyone on every single
issue will only come back to bite you. PBUS may not be “all bail insurance, all
the time,” but it’s infested with insurance dudes and it has the bail insurance
mentality. I don’t see that changing without some really serious adjustments at
the top.
But now, aligned as they may
be, it’s clear that ABC has grown weary of the really whacked out strategy of
PBUS, which has brought in some pretty nutty people and super-weird ideas (suing
on products liability?). But ABC’s really no better, and it’s all the uninformed
fighting that both groups do that will ultimately kill the industry in any
event. That’s because neither ABC nor PBUS has any strategy that doesn’t
involve fighting to the death. In short, they have no solution for the states.
We do.
Bail agents, I know I said I
gave up on you, but I feel compelled to advise you at least one more time. So just
remember that there’s no future for bail insurance companies in American
pretrial release and detention. There’s no need, because even if we keep money,
those really big numbers are going away. The sooner you cut those companies loose
and work on your own strategy, the longer you’ll stay in business. Hey, it won’t
be easy, but don’t tell me it’s impossible. If you think so, you’ve just been
listening to the bail insurance companies too much.
