While this post thread is fire and casualty insurance, when you look ad medical insurance, it is just insane.
I had an appointment at a specialist and I am on a high deductible plan. I called up and asked how much I would be spending. They refused to tell me. I tried this again, and another person refused. "We can't know how much it will cost."
So I went in and asked. Same line. "It matters what happens in the appointment and if you have any treatments." "Sure, but what about the base cost assuming nothing else happens?" "We can't say." "Look lady, I'm needing to know if I can afford this. I don't need exacts. I need ballparks. $100? $500? $1000? $5000?" "Oh, i can't imagine it will be that much?" "Which?" "I can't say."
I needed the appointment, so I went in blind. Came back out, and they literally couldn't figure out what to charge me. "We don't see a deductible..." Yeah, I am from an HSA and have a high deductible plan." "Um, no change at this time. We will send you an invoice." Turned out to be $50.
With such price transparency, we will never fix things in the US.
While the problem is not as crazy on property insurance, it is still subject to complexities. Different policies have different exclusions and different riders. You can't just compare apples to apples. Heck, even auto insurance has nuances. Some only pay out if you are driving your own car while others will pay out for any car you happen to be driving.