SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL April 24, 2013

To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’s conference call, here are some of the key media stories, and the messages we’re conveying.

 

If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, May 1, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.

 

The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig gave a live interview on the Wednesday, April 24, broadcast of Fox Business Network’s Money with Melissa Francis, and a taped interview that same day to Milwaukee’s CBS affiliate. Both segments focused on whether businesses should purchase terrorism insurance. CNN asked Hartwig in an off-air conversation about insurance coverage for the damaged boat where the 19-year-old suspect was found, with the CNN piece pegged to an online fundraising campaign aimed at buying the boat owner a new vessel.

Fourteen people died after the Wednesday, April 17, explosion at the West Fertilizer Company’s facility in West, Texas, with national media examining whether they had a risk management plan, and the trade press exploring whether the company opted out of Texas’ traditional workers compensation system.

The I.I.I.’s news release noted that 93 percent of the Sandy claims in New York and New Jersey have been settled, according to insurance regulators in the two states. The Reuters story on the I.I.I.’s findings also appeared, in condensed form, in The New York Post’s print edition on Tuesday, April 23, and the Star-Ledger also filed a piece on it. The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry spoke about the release with a New Jersey radio station as well as two New Jersey newspapers, the Asbury Park Press and the Press of Atlantic City.

The overall customer satisfaction score dropped to 850 from 861, on a 1,000 point scale, according to policyholders surveyed in late 2012, this Thursday, April 18, J.D. Power release states.

The three authors of WCRI’s study, Longer-Term Use of Opioids in Workers’ Compensation, shared their research and insights in a one-hour webinar on Thursday, April 25.

The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore has been working with Money magazine’s Carla Fried on a story about ways to save on homeowners insurance for an article that will likely serve as a follow-up to Lisa Gibbs’ major April 2013 story on this issue…the I.I.I.’s Barry spoke with Long Island Newsday’s Joe Ryan for a Sunday, April 28, piece he’s writing on Sandy’s six-month anniversary.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released new guidelines intended to reduce the risks of distracted driving by recommending that automakers voluntarily limit the functions of electronic devices they install in autos, The New York Times reported in a Tuesday, April 23, article.

 

More than 100 acres were burned by a wildfire, prompting residential evacuations last weekend in Monrovia, The Los Angeles Times reported, on Monday, April 22.

 

The state Senate’s Natural Resources and Water Committee approved SB 135 on Tuesday, April 23. If enacted, it would develop fully California’s Integrated Seismic Network, an earthquake early warning system that would provide the public with up to 60 seconds notice before potentially damaging ground shaking is felt. The system’s price tag is estimated at $80 million.

 

The Los Angeles Times reported in this Tuesday, April 23, article that a former Long Beach mortician was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison after being convicted of filing false life insurance claims. The federal case dates back to 2009.

 

An 80-year-old woman had her $451.20 travel insurance claim denied;  Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus examined why this was the case on Tuesday, April 23.

The state Senate approved the Homeowners Insurance Reform Act of 2013 on Monday, April 22, legislation that calls for requiring insurance policies to be written more plainly and giving policyholders more time to file a claim after a total loss, the Associated Press reported in this next-day article.

 

The Wildfire Ready campaign, which had the support of the governor and Denver’s CBS affiliate last year, will launch this year with a regional TV advertisement on the Sunday, May 5, broadcast of 60 Minutes, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, another one of the effort’s sponsors.

 

 

The Florida Senate is expected to consider a modified version of SB 1770, with new Citizens policyholders who purchase wind-only policies from Citizens expected to see the highest premium rate hikes, if the legislation is enacted into law, according to a front page story in the print edition of the Wednesday, April 24, Palm Beach Post.

 

The Tampa Bay Times challenged the accuracy of an television advertisement aimed at generating public opposition to the rescission of an insurance industry tax break (SB 1832).

 

The Senate bill calling for elimination of the no-fault system in Florida (SB 1888) is going nowhere in this legislative session, the Florida Current reports.

 

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation would need the approval of the state’s House and Senate Insurance committees before imposing an annual premium rate hike of more than 25 percent in any given parish, if Senate Bill 19 became law, the New Orleans Times-Picayune explained, in this Monday, April 22, article.

 

Senator Dan Morrish (R-Jennings) wants to succeed the current Citizens president, who is retiring, but must clear a few hurdles, the Times-Picayune reported on Thursday, April 18.

 

Louisiana’s House has defeated a bill that would require law enforcement officials to attempt to verify whether a driver’s motor vehicle insurance is up to date. The measure’s sponsor said he has been getting complaints about motorists involved in accidents who do not have the auto insurance they claim to have, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported, on Tuesday, April 23.

 

Senator Margaret Craven (D-Lewiston) has introduced a bill that would allow life insurance policyholders to convert these assets into monies they could allocate toward their immediate long-term care needs, according to this Tuesday, April 23, article in The Bangor Daily News.

 

The I.I.I. Hartwig’s 2009 testimony to the state Legislature was cited in this Tuesday, April 23, Detroit News editorial on the need for reforming Michigan’s no-fault system.

 

House Bill 4612 was introduced on Tuesday, April 23, and calls for capping the state’s unlimited personal injury protection coverage at $1 million, forming an authority to curb insurance fraud, and restricting what medical providers can charge insurers for auto-related injuries. The House Insurance Committee held a hearing on the bill on Thursday, April 25.

 

Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency on Friday, April 19, as a rising Mississippi River threatened to flood communities near St. Louis. CNN broadcast a segment live from St. Louis on Wednesday morning, April 24, on the latest developments there. NBC News has also been focusing on the flooding of the Illinois River.

 

The Department of Financial Services announced settlements within the past week with a lender-placed insurer (Thursday, April 18) and a disability insurer (Monday, April 22).

 

 

Neither the mandatory minimum auto insurance liability limits nor the rules governing homeowner non-renewal notices will change this year, A.M. Best reported, on Friday, April 19.

 

Twitter and YouTube were filled with tweets and videos about terrorism insurance is—what it is and how it can protect businesses. The conversation revolved around whether the Boston Marathon bombing will be classified by the federal government as an act of terrorism and whether, moving forward, having terrorism insurance is a smart move for most businesses. Videos of the media interviews with the I.I.I.’s Hartwig on this topic are being shared by journalists and insurance experts. 

Another trending item is about the fact insurance companies will pay more than $18 billion in Sandy-related claims, making the storm the third costliest in U.S. history. In addition, news has circulated about how more than 90 percent of  the New Jersey and New York Sandy claims have been settled. These facts and statistics are popular on Twitter and also in numerous blogs dealing with insurance and disasters. Social media commentators are generally amazed at how much damage the storm caused, and pleased the insurance industry has settled most Sandy claims.

Koch Industries is considering purchasing The Tribune Company’s newspapers; this would result in the company owning not only The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune but also The Baltimore Sun, the Orlando Sentinel, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Morning Call (Allentown, PA) and The Daily Press (Hampton Roads, VA), Media Matters writes.

 

Al Neuharth, retired chairman of Gannett and founder of USA Today, died on Friday, April 19. He was 89 years old, according to this New York Times obituary.

 

Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV was released this week by Grand Central Publishing. The author is New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter.

 

The I.I.I. is cited regularly in the media as an authoritative source of insurance information. To access the current I.I.I. press clips, click here

 

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