To recap the issues raised during this week’s conference call, here are the key media stories we discussed, and the messages we’re conveying.
If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, September 7, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
HURRICANES HEADED TOWARD FLORIDA, HAWAII
The I.I.I. issued releases this week in advance of Hermine’s arrival in Florida and as Madeline and Lester approached Hawaii.
U.S. TRAFFIC DEATHS INCREASED 7.2 PERCENT IN 2015 AS COMPARED TO 2014
The federal government reported the highest single-year percentage increase in U.S. traffic deaths since 1966.
STATES
Alabama
A Montgomery law firm says two multi-million-dollar jury verdicts this year against Johnson & Johnson have generated thousands of phone calls to its office about a J&J talcum powder.
California
The Gap Fire prompted evacuations in the communities of Horse Creek and Hamburg (Siskiyou County), according to a front-page story in the Redding Record-Searchlight.
Tens of millions of dead trees statewide have contributed to the wildfire hazards, The New York Times reports.
The Department of Insurance apologized for its mistaken arrest of a 62-year-old woman in May 2016.
A Bakersfield insurance agent was arrested on 14 counts of insurance fraud and theft.
Florida
Longwood-based American Colonial Insurance is telling agents the company is losing money on the policies it assumed from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, according to a Palm Beach Post article.
Louisiana
In a move aimed at reducing the state’s disaster recovery expenditures, its Congressional delegation is asking FEMA to combine its August 2016 flood assessments with those from March 2016.
FEMA does not require a homeowner without flood insurance to file a claim with their home insurer before seeking federal assistance, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
The more than 60,000 residents who had to evacuate after the Louisiana floods may encounter mold-infested residences upon returning home, NBC News reports.
Missouri
Downtown Kansas City incurred flash flooding after 4.56 inches of rain fell on Friday, August 26.
Oklahoma
A 3.3 magnitude quake was recorded on Monday afternoon, August 29, about 17 miles west-southwest of Perry (Garfield County). Neither property damage nor injuries were reported.
MEDIA MATTERS
Business Insurance is being revived in October 2016 by a new buyer.
Chicago’s Tribune Tower was sold for $240 million to a Los Angeles-based developer.
An anonymous donor pledged $1 million to the Salvation Army for its Louisiana relief efforts after hearing about them in a CNN interview.
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.
