> Not sure where the popular impression that it is not competitive comes from

The fact that it goes up 20-30% every year (no claims, obviously), that I cannot raise my deductibles to significantly lower my premiums, the whole skin-job of "agents" that provide an illusion of choices to confuse the market, and that they've bought a friendly regulatory regime that lets them price discriminate by capping coverage maximums when the whole point of insurance is to cover long-tail risks. Never mind that their chief "innovation" over the past few years has been pushing surveillance devices that track your driving, finding reasons to cancel policies, and whatnot.

I've also bumped into a few different people who shut down their small businesses over untenable commercial rates. The whole industry is a massive drag on our economy. I've no doubt that the accountants/actuaries find places for the money to go that isn't just executives' pockets, but that's of little consolation.