With most companies, a company succeeds by treating it's customers fairly and running ethical business practices. In the insurance industry you profit by screwing your customers who have nowhere else to go.
I am from Saskatchewan, Canada, a province that has been run by a socialist government for the majority of its existence. We have many many Crown Corporations, that being companies owned by the government. One of our Crowns is SGI (Saskatchewan Government Insurance), it competes with the co-ops and private plans for all insurance that isn't related to health care.
A look into SGI is an example of a public insurance company keeping the private insurance companies honest, and a look into how to bring about the public option.
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