If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, May 3rd, please email Michael Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS & HOME SAFETY (IBHS) APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Susan Millerick can be reached via email at smillerick@ibhs.org. Her office number is 813-675-1066.
INSURANCE INDUSTRY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION (IICF) HOSTING WOMEN IN INSURANCE GLOBAL CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK CITY (JUNE 7-9)
Alisa Breese, IICF’s California-based Director, Marketing & Communications, reports the 2017 Inclusion Champion Awards will be given out at this event. In addition, she said an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for the Inclusion Champion Tribute publication is still available. It will be distributed to all conference attendees. Breese can be reached at either 949-481-3741 or abreese@iicf.org.
FIVE GOVERNORS ASK CONGRESS FOR AN ADDITIONAL $3.6 BILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO RECOVER FROM NATURAL DISASTERS
The governors of Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia signed the correspondence, which was sent to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committees.
WHOLESALE & SPECIALTY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION (WSIA) TO FORM FOLLOWING AAMGA-NAPSLO MERGER
The WSIA will emerge after the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) and the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) join forces.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry taped an interview yesterday (April 25) with Chicago’s CBS affiliate on how consumers can save money on auto insurance.
The I.I.I.’s Barry is working CBS This Morning producer Nicole Keller on a prospective segment about the growing number of dash cams on private-passenger vehicles.
The New York Post’s editorial board may offer its view soon about the state’s recently enacted workers compensation insurance reforms.
The Fox TV affiliate in Albany, Georgia, is readying a story on the state’s efforts to disburse unclaimed life insurance policy proceeds to their rightful beneficiaries.
Homes.com has an article in the works on flood risk in northern California in the aftermath of the Oroville Dam crisis.
CurbedBoston.com’s Karen Taylor wants to talk with subject matter experts about rising sea levels and flood insurance for property owners in the Boston area.
CAPITOL HILL
The Financial CHOICE (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs) Act is being discussed today (Wednesday) at a U.S. House Financial Services committee hearing.
Act to End Deadly Distractions is the title of an all-day forum being held today at the D.C. headquarters of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is hosting on Wednesday, May 24, an all-day conference at the Constitution Center in Washington, D.C. to assess how identity theft has evolved over the last decade.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases yesterday (April 25) that could prevent plaintiffs’ lawyers from filing lawsuits in state courts that have a history of ruling in favor of plaintiffs and making large jury awards.
STATES
Alabama
Three tornadoes touched down on Saturday, April 22, in Cullman, Franklin and Jackson counties. The National Weather Service reports there was extensive damage to trees.
Arizona
Waymo, formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project, is giving hundreds of Phoenix area residents access to their own self-driving vehicles, according to The Washington Post.
California
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and Orange County’s District Attorney announced charges against individuals allegedly involved in a massive workers compensation insurance fraud scheme.
California has emerged from its five-year drought with heavy rainfall so far this year.
The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) is reminding the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles that insurers will play a key role in making driverless cars a reality.
The death of an Uber employee is at the center of a court case challenging the state’s workers compensation insurance laws.
Silicon Valley industry figures like Larry Page, a Google founder, are taking on the dream of the flying car.
Connecticut
A 56-year-old doctor from Cheshire was killed, and his 21-year-old son was seriously injured, when their private plane crashed on Monday, April 24, in Wallingford.
An East Windsor private plane crash killed two people on Tuesday, April 18.
Florida
More than 100 wildfires continue to burn in Florida, bringing the total land consumed this year to at least 126,000 acres—exceeding in four months the five-year annual average of how much is usually burned by wildfires statewide.
An article on the proposed repeal of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel offers a synopsis of the legislative alternatives and quotes critics who say PIP’s elimination would be a boon to trial lawyers.
This Palm Beach Post article maintains most drivers will cheer now that the Florida House has voted to end the “double tax” PIP plan.
A triathlete injured while riding his bike was featured in the Palm Beach Post as a PIP repeal advocate. The article quoted I.I.I. data and referenced a study last fall which maintained drivers could save up to $81 annually per car if the state got rid of its no-fault auto insurance system, even with increases in other kinds of coverage.
Georgia
The wildfire in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge could burn for six months unless heavy rains douse the flames sooner. The fire began after a lightning strike on April 6.
Idaho
Federal funding is available to eligible local governments in 11 counties for damage to municipal properties caused by the severe weather storms and flooding from February 5-27, 2017.
Louisiana
The cost of flood insurance statewide may not be immediately impacted by August 2016’s flood disaster, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon told The Baton Rouge Advocate.
In a separate Baton Rouge Advocate story, Commissioner Donelon said he thought this year’s FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization bill may expand the state’s private flood insurance market.
Governor John Bel Edwards signed an emergency proclamation last week declaring the state’s coastal communities in a “state of crisis.”
The National Hurricane Center (NHC)’s new storm surge advisories will supplement its hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches effective June 1, the Times-Picayune reports.
New York
Five people died on Sunday, April 23, in the deadliest residential fire in New York City since 2015.
North Carolina
Amid heavy rainfall, flood warnings were posted for rivers in 33 of the state’s eastern counties. April will go down as one of the wettest in Raleigh’s history, the Associated Press reports.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Swiss Re Webinar
Swiss Re and the I.I.I. will conduct a joint webinar tomorrow (April 27), starting at 11 a.m., ET, on 2016’s global natural catastrophes. To follow the conversation on social, use the hashtag #SRISigma and follow @iiiorg, @III_research, and @SwissRe on Twitter.
National Small Business Week (April 30-May 6)
Follow the U.S. Small Business Administration at @SBAgov on Twitter and be on the look-out next week for small business insurance tips from the I.I.I. You can join the discussion using the hashtags #SmallBusinessWeek and #DreamSmallBiz.
2017 RIMS Conference
The Risk and Insurance Management Society’s (RIMS) annual conference concludes today (April 26) in Philadelphia. You can follow the conversation on social using the hashtag #RIMS2017. By following the Risk and Insurance Management Society at @RIMSorg and @III_Research, you can also access photos and updates from inside the event.
MEDIA MATTERS
The Weather Channel has the best TV News Brand, according to a new Harris Poll.
CNN has hired Alexander Marquardt, formerly of ABC News, as a New York-based senior national correspondent.
Meanwhile, Deborah Feyerick is leaving CNN in May 2017 after 20 years there.
Former Fox News Channel anchor and correspondent Heather Nauert is the new U.S. State Department spokesperson.
