SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL August 8, 2012

 

If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, August 15, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.

 

The I.I.I. issued a media advisory on Thursday, August 9, which links to I.I.I. president Bob Hartwig’s testimony to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

 

The IIHS evaluated how 11 midsize luxury and near-luxury cars fared after a test designed to replicate what happens when a car’s front driver-side, corner collides with another vehicle, or an object like a tree or utility pole.

The six include Northern Rockies states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, as well as Great Basin states like Utah, Nevada and Oregon, according to a Friday, August 3, Associated Press article that quoted experts at the National Interagency Fire Center.

The re-emergence of so-called “salvage” vehicles on used car lots concerns some auto dealers, consumers and insurers, according to this Wednesday, August 8, USA Today column, which includes a quote from the I.I.I.’s Hartwig.

September 11, 2001, remains the most costly and deadly terrorist event in world history, according to Hartwig’s PowerPoint presentation on Friday, August 3, which was delivered at an ABA meeting in Chicago. It included a terrorism loss summary and a section discussing terrorism threat scenarios. Another part of the presentation looked at the nature of likely future insured losses, explaining that the definition of terrorist attacks will need to evolve with technology to include cyber terror, for example.

 

The National Insurance Crime Bureau worked with the production company for Crime Inc. on a program that aired on CNBC on Thursday, August 9, at 8 p.m., ET.

The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore gave an interview to the WSJ’s Emily Glazer about auto insurer accident forgiveness programs….the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters spoke with John Schoen of NBC about the private-sector disability insurance market and with Liz Weston, a syndicated personal finance columnist, about the amount of money Americans spent last year on property/casualty insurance coverage….the I.I.I.’s Mike Barry spoke with Men’s Health magazine about National Flood Insurance Program claims payouts over the past 10 years for a story they are preparing on the riskiest U.S. cities in which to live, and with InsuranceQuotes.com about which states do not require the purchase of motorcycle insurance (Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire and Washington).

The Treasury Department’s Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI) met on Monday, August 6, in Washington, D.C.  This media advisory links to a webcast of the meeting.

 

Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Michigan), one of the sponsors of a bill that would ban auto insurers from using credit-based insurance scores when setting rates, lost a Democratic Congressional primary on Tuesday, August 7.

 

Ten wildfires this month have burned nearly 80,000 acres statewide, with some of the most extensive damage to residential and commercial properties occurring west of Tulsa, according to this Monday, August 6, Tulsa World article. The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) has established field offices to assist fire victims; their locations are listed in this OID news release.

 

The I.I.I. has issued a white paper examining the insurance repercussions of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew as the 20^th anniversary of the storm (August 24) nears.

 

The I.I.I. is launching on Monday, August 13, a Hurricane Andrew-themed Twitter campaign that will continue over the next two weeks.

 

Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, an Illinois-based firm retained by the state’s Office of Financial Regulation (OIR), believes the enactment of House Bill 119 should reduce the amount auto insurance companies pay out in personal injury protection (PIP) claims, although HB 119 may not immediately lead to lower premiums, according to this Saturday, August 4, article posted at the Miami Herald’s website. Pinnacle’s draft report can be found on the I.I.I.’s Florida website.

 

The Alabama Affordable Homeowners Commission is convening on Friday, August 17, in Montgomery to review an Auburn University report on the state’s property insurance market.

Dr. Gregory Postel made his debut this week as the Atlanta-based Weather Channel’s new, on-air tropical weather and hurricane specialist. Dr. Postel, who previously worked as an on-air meteorologist for a Kansas television station, was also for a time an expert with the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.

 

4-plus magnitude earthquakes occurred on Wednesday, August 8, near Yorba Linda, in the southern part of the state, and not far from Cloverdale, which is in northern California.

 

Riverside County crews that were clearing brush with motorized equipment likely caused the wildfire which burned nearly 350 acres in the La Cresta area west of Murrieta, according to a front page story in the Thursday, August 2, edition of The Press Enterprise.

CalFire’s bid to bill 800,000 homeowners a total of $150 each could end up hurting the finances of rural firefighting districts, this Tuesday, August 7, San Jose Mercury News story reports.

 

A 41-year-old man was killed and nine people were  injured after a lightning strike hit them in the Pocono Raceway parking lot at on Sunday afternoon, August 5, according to USA Today.

The Texas Department of Insurance released publicly on Monday, August 6, a letter Commissioner Kitzman wrote to consumers who are concerned about the cost of homeowners insurance.

On Sunday, August 5, The Corpus Christi Caller-Times published an in-depth assessment of Texas insurance commissioner Eleanor Kitzman’s tenure to date, while at also chronicling her years as South Carolina’s insurance commissioner (2005-2007).

 

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) wrote letters last month to nearly 80 life insurers, seeking detailed information from them no later than this month about their financial arrangements with affiliated entities such as captive insurance companies, according to a Monday, August 6, Wall Street Journal article. DFS is investigating whether insurers are offering an inaccurate picture to regulators of their true financial health through these affiliates, the WSJ reports.

The 22-year-old son of a 47-year-old Long Island man accused of faking his own death last week by making it appear as though the father had drowned off of Jones Beach was arrested this week and charged with insurance fraud. Investigators believe the son planned on filing a fraudulent death certificate to obtain his father’s life insurance proceeds. The story has been prominently reported in the New York metropolitan area as well as nationally, such as in this Monday, August 6, segment on ABC’s Good Morning America.

 

About 40 towns in Vermont that were devastated by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene last year are facing delays in rebuilding because of an escalating dispute between state authorities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over how to repair the state’s river infrastructure, according to a story in the Friday, August 3, edition of The Wall Street Journal.

 

CNN’s prime-time lineup of programs dropped to new ratings lows during the week of Monday, July 30.

 

The I.I.I.’s Thursday, August 2, news release about the 20^th Anniversary of Hurricane Andrew is getting attention on Twitter as journalists and insurance agents share the story and reflect on the lasting impact Andrew has had on the property/casualty insurance market.

 

The topic of saving money on auto insurance is a trending story in social media this week. Bankrate.com’s “9 Insurance Discounts Not to Be Missed” story quotes the I.I.I.’s Barry and is appearing on numerous insurance blogs that educate consumers on how to find the best rate. The article, which also got posted at Fox Business Network’s website on Friday, August 3, portrays auto insurers as being consumer-friendly if consumers do their research and investigate their options to save money.

 

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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