In today's world, insurance isn’t optional. From the auto insurance mandatory for drivers in many states, to the homeowners’ policy required for a mortgage, to the tremendous obstacles to securing needed medical care that face anyone without health coverage, insurance is a critical product for middle-class Americans. Less obviously, the cost of insurance adds to the price of virtually every good or service Americans purchase, because buying various types of insurance is part of most companies' cost of doing business. Yet the business practices of insurance companies often receive little scrutiny. The insurance industry is exempted from federal antitrust laws, providing insurance companies with significant leeway to legally collude in setting prices, increasing premiums, and resolving claims in bad faith without fear of recourse. Insurance companies all too frequently deny claims or offer severely inadequate payments to aspiring middle-class and middle-class families for costs they were led to believe their insurance policies would cover. The Insurance Industry Competition Act of 2009 would help create a uniform system of oversight, encourage competition, and discourage bad-faith business practices in the insurance industry. The legislation provides the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission the authority to apply antitrust laws to anti-competitive behavior by insurance companies, just as it does for other industries. By curbing the insurance industry’s ability to engage in monopolistic and deceitful practices, the legislation would protect middle-class consumers and give them confidence in the way insurance claims are processed.