To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’s conference call, here are some of the key media stories, and the messages we’re conveying.
California controller announces settlement agreement with John Hancock regarding its handling of dormant accounts:
California Controller John Chiang issued this news release on Friday, April 22, with the details.
MetLife to testify at Monday, May 23, public hearing on its interactions with California’s unclaimed property program:
The session is “part of a continuing effort in many states to identify unclaimed financial property that should be turned over to states,” according to a Tuesday, April 26, Wall Street Journal (subscription required) article. The CDI issued this news release on Monday, April 25.
Wall Street Journal profiles Primerica and its bid to change state licensing tests for life insurance agents:
Primerica Inc., the life insurer with the largest sales force in the U.S., recruited approximately 230,000 new agents in 2010. Yet approximately 80 percent of the recruits have not as yet become life insurance agents, primarily because they failed state licensing exams, the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports in a front page story on the Monday, April 25. Primerica has taken the unusual step of pressuring state regulators to change their exams, arguing that the exams were too hard in some places and could be biased, making it more difficult for certain minorities to obtain licenses.
Lambert-St. Louis Airport hit by tornado; about 750 nearby homes also damaged:
The Friday, April 22, tornado, which also hit Bridgeton, Missouri, made national news over the Easter weekend. The insurance industry’s response to the disaster was chronicled in this Wednesday, April 27, St. Louis Post Dispatch article.
PCI’s president says businesses are confused by the Dodd-Frank Act’s definition of ‘systemic risk’:
Dr. David Sampson, PCI’s president, also noted in a Saturday, April 23, Wall Street Journal (subscription required) letter to the editor that auto, home, and business insurers have been strong and stable throughout the financial crisis, and that the Dodd-Frank Act appropriately treated insurance differently than other financial sectors, recognizing its strong consumer protections provided by state regulatory and guaranty fund systems.
I.I.I. offers liability coverage insights to the New York Times as part of its research into Zipcar’s operations:
NYT columnist Ron Lieber, a Zipcar member, believes Zipcar ought to provide broader liability coverage to its customers, and that Zipcar management is reluctant to discuss the matter with their patrons. The I.I.I. is not mentioned in the Saturday, April 23, article but offered extensive guidance to Lieber during the story’s preparation. A question for the group: does anyone have any statistics indicating what percentage of an individual company’s total private-passenger auto liability claim payouts exceed $300,000 in any given year? If so, please offer us some guidance on how to track down that data.
April 2011 will go down as a record-setting month for tornadoes in the U.S., USA Today reports:
The 292 confirmed tornadoes so far this month are more than the previous April record of 267 in 1974, and almost twice the April average of 163, according to Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. Forbes, a severe weather expert, was quoted in this Monday, April 25, USA Today story.
Numerous fatalities caused by Arkansas tornadoes, flooding:
Reuters reported on the Monday, April 25, natural disasters in this next-day story.
I.I.I. is key source for New York Times’ ‘Frugal Traveler’ column on whether to purchase car rental insurance:
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters is quoted in NYT columnist Seth Kugel’s Tuesday, April 26, column on the topic. Worters also spoke about this same issue with Christina Ianzito, a D.C.-based researcher/Writer for AARP magazine (Phone: 202-434-6851).
University of Minnesota law school professor’s critique of homeowners insurance policy language chronicled in New York Times:
Professor Daniel Schwarcz’s assertions, first made at a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) session in August 2010, are discussed in this Thursday, April 21, Bucks blog item.
I.I.I. interviewed by Time Warner Cable (TWC) for segment on disaster preparedness and claims filing:
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore taped an interview on Thursday, April 28, with NY1 Consumer Watch reporter Asa Arons, and the story aired in New York City later that day. The segment will be repurposed for TWC outlets nationwide.
New York Times readying piece on the safest places to live in the U.S.:
The final article appeared in the paper’s Sunday, May 1, edition. A chart shows the eight metropolitan areas at lowest risk of natural disasters, topped by Corvallis, Oregon, and the eight areas at highest risk, with Dallas-Plano-Irvin, Texas, at the top of that list.
Smart Money prepping story on swimming pool liability coverage issues:
The I.I.I.’s Worters spoke with reporter Jami Makan (jami.makan@dowjones.com) about the matter.
St. Petersburg Times op-ed writer wonders why state lawmakers are receptive to measures supported by Florida’s property insurers:
Robert Triguax wrote a column on the national profitability of property/casualty insurers to dispute that the insurance sky is falling in Florida. He writes that insurers are doing well financially, according to the report on year-end financials released by ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian sent Triguax an email pointing out that comparing national data from all 50 states and all lines of P/C business to that of Florida’s market is misleading because insurance is regulated at the state level. The I.I.I. responded in the same vein last year when Triguax wrote a similar column.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that numerous bills aimed at fighting auto insurance fraud are going nowhere:
The Sun-Sentinel blog on the auto insurance bills, posted on Tuesday, April 26, detailed the fatal roadblock that many of them hit this week. Measures within SB 1930/HB 967 would have capped policyholders’ attorneys fees and provisions in SB 1694/HB 1411 would have allowed discounts for auto insurance policyholders who sought treatment from preferred providers. None of these bills received needed legislative approvals in either the House or Senate on Monday, April 25. Two less controversial items were added to another bill related to insurance (SB 1252): requiring police to record information for all passengers involved in auto accidents; and creating civil penalties, the proceeds of which would fund anti-fraud efforts.
Texas estimates state, local agencies have spent $49.2 million to combat wildfires dating back to late 2010:
The dollar estimate comes from the Texas Forest Service, and covers the period extending from September 1, 2010, to Sunday, April 24, 2011. This Wednesday, April 27, Texas Tribune article discusses the issue.
Louisiana lawmakers strongly criticize Jindal administration’s handling of a hazard mitigation program:
The Baton Rouge Advocate reported in its Tuesday, April 26, edition on how Democrats in Louisiana’s state Senate ripped into Republican Governor Bobby Jindal regarding his administration’s handling of a hazard mitigation program aimed at helping homeowners raise their property elevations in southern Louisiana. The Shaw Group, the state’s vendor, is at the center of the disagreement over how the initiative has been administered.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that an $8 million settlement has been reached in a defective Chinese drywall dispute:
The accord is between Interior/Exterior Building Supply LP, the company that distributed defective Knauf-brand Chinese drywall in the Gulf area, and its primary insurers, Arch Insurance Company and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, according to a Tuesday, April 26, article in the Times-Picayune. The settlement, involving an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 homeowners in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, was announced by U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon but is subject to court approval. If approved, this will be the first monetary settlement in the nearly two-year-old case over corrosive drywall imported from China.
Alabama’s Senate Banking and Insurance committee pass five coastal insurance bills:
The bills passed only after most of them had failed previously and were given an unusual second chance to advance, the Mobile Press-Register reported in this Friday, April 22, article. The five bills sent to the full Senate deal with, among other things, requiring insurers to notify their customers about hurricane retrofit discounts, and giving private property insurers tax breaks for taking over policies of homeowners currently covered by the state’s property insurer of last resort. Proposals strongly opposed by insurance industry, including forcing them to disclose data on rates and losses by ZIP code, have yet to be considered, the article states.
New York State Senate’s insurance committee holds public hearing on ways to combat no-fault fraud:
I.I.I. president Robert Hartwig and New York Insurance Association (NYIA) president Ellen Melchionni were among those who testified in lower Manhattan at the Tuesday, April 26, public hearing. The I.I.I. issued this Monday, April 25, news release to promote the I.I.I.’s research, which found that more than $200 million was illegally extracted from the no-fault system statewide because of fraud and abuse in both 2009 and 2010. NYIA issued a news release on Tuesday, April 26.
California Department of Insurance (CDI) approves third auto insurer’s application to offer the state’s motorists a pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) policy:
Sequoia Insurance Company has joined the Automobile Club of Southern California and State Farm as the only licensed insurers offering this product in California, according to this Friday, April 22, CDI news release.
Nevada Assembly approves bill to create an auto insurance program for low-income drivers:
The pilot project (Assembly Bill 299) would be launched in Clark County, and the state insurance commissioner would impose a 50-cent levy on all other auto insurance policies to finance the program’s administration. Drivers whose income fell below the federal poverty line and had vehicles worth $20,000 or less would qualify for the low-cost insurance program, and the insurance commissioner would set the rates. AB 299 passed by a vote of 29 to 13, according to this Tuesday, April 26, Las Vegas Sun article.
Oklahoma’s governor signs into law a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages in civil liability cases:
Governor Mary Fallin’s decision won praise from the Oklahoma State Medical Association and is listed as one of the Fallin administration’s major legislative accomplishments during the current session in this Tulsa World political column.
