To recap the issues raised during today’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, December 18, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA (CFA) REPORT SAYS USE OF CREDIT-BASED INSURANCE SCORES HURTS LOWER INCOME DRIVERS
The I.I.I. issued a media advisory during the CFA’s Wednesday, December 11, teleconference. The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig has since been interviewed on the subject by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Marketwatch.com, and National Underwriter.
P/C INSURANCE CARRIERS HAVE ADDED 11,600 JOBS NATIONALLY OVER THE PAST 19 MONTHS, ACCORDING TO U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
From a trough in February 2012 of 515,600 employees, property/casualty carrier employment has been rising, with its total workforce growing by 2.25 percent through October 2013, the I.I.I. found.
WINTER STORM IS BLAMED FOR FOUR FATALITIES; TWO OCCURRED IN TEXAS, ONE IN OKLAHOMA, AND THE OTHER IN ARKANSAS
Icy conditions between Thursday, December 5, and Saturday, December 7, also hindered travel and caused power outages from Texas to Tennessee, FEMA reported (see slide #4).
NEW YORK CITY DERAILMENT REVIVES CALLS FOR INSTALLATION OF POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL (PTC) SYSTEMS, USA TODAY REPORTS
Since 2005, the federal government has investigated 15 fatal train accidents, concluding in each instance that PTC, an automatic braking system, would have prevented the accident.
LIFE INSURERS REMAIN CHALLENGED BY LOW INTEREST RATES, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH EXPOSURE TO FIXED ANNUITIES, A.M. BEST STUDY FINDS
Liquidity Ratios Declining as Higher Yields Sought focuses on “companies with annuity reserves exceeding 50 percent of their total reserves,” this Monday, December 9, news release states.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig is being interviewed by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, December 12, for an article the WSJ is preparing on the impact of the Federal Reserve’s anticipated “tapering” on financial services firms.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore is working with Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Sheryl Harris for a story about a woman whose home was severely damaged when a drunken driver ran into it.
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore is being interviewed by Cameron Huddleston for a Kiplinger.com article on how insurance can protect against holiday hazards (e.g., tree fire, social host liability). If you have suggestions for her article, please email her at CHuddleston@kiplinger.com
The Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack is readying a piece on why off-duty Massachusetts state troopers seem to get into more auto accidents than people in other occupations.
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig was interviewed by InsuranceQuotes.com’s Nick DiUlio for an article they are developing on the link between filing an auto claim and seeing a premium rate hike.
The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry and Steve Weisbart spoke with Money magazine’s Kate Ashford on the basics of auto, disability, home and life insurance. Ashford is updating their website content.
CAPITOL HILL
The American Meteorological Society is co-hosting on Monday, December 16, from 3 to 5 p.m., a Capitol Hill briefing on Climate Information Needs for Financial Decision Making.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday, December 5, by a vote of 325-91, the Innovation Act (H.R. 3309), a bill aimed at combating “abusive patent litigation.”
The Federal Register included on Wednesday, December 4, a notice about a survey Heath and Human Services is conducting on the public’s attitude toward long-term care insurance.
STATES
Alabama
Attorney General Luther Strange is formally supporting Mississippi’s lawsuit against FEMA, an action aimed at keeping the 2012 federal flood insurance reform law from taking effect.
A Tea Party-affiliated organization hosted a Town Hall-style meeting on how to reduce coastal property insurance costs on Tuesday, December 9, in Fairhope, the Press-Register reported.
California
There are flaws in both of the proposed 2014 ballot measures dealing with medical malpractice lawsuits, according to this Wednesday, December 11, LA Times print edition column.
The Sacramento Bee reported on Thursday, December 5, the arrest of three individuals suspected of filing more than 1,000 fraudulent insurance claims for windshield repairs.
Florida
The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian addressed(see item #7) the Auto Insurance Fraud Strike Force on Monday, December 9, regarding the differences between PIP and bodily injury systems.
A jury convicted a 64-year-old attorney last week for his criminal conduct at a now-defunct company that sold investments in life insurance policies, the AP’s Miami bureau reports.
Louisiana
A U.S. House vote on delaying some Biggert-Waters’ flood insurance rate hikes could take place later this week, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported, on Wednesday, December 11.
Michigan
Total costs per workers comp claim were 12 percent lower in 2009 than the median state in a 16-state study, this Monday, December 9, Workers’ Compensation Research Institute news release stated.
Mississippi
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says he does not have the staff to convert statewide, company specific information he collects and shares publicly (e.g. premiums written, insured losses) into a county-by-county database, something Alabama’s Insurance Department must do under that state’s Clarity Act, this Wednesday, December 11, Biloxi Sun Herald story reports.
Oklahoma
A 4.5 magnitude earthquake was felt in Norman, Edmond and Oklahoma City on Saturday, December 7, the Daily Oklahoman said. No injuries or property damage was reported.
Two Norman-based companies have settled their dispute over maps that both companies sell to insurers to track hail damage, according to this Saturday, December 7, article in The Daily Oklahoman.
New Jersey
A four-mile-long seawall will be driven 32 feet below sea level, and rise 16 feet above-ground, when the $40 million project is built in Ocean County, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
New York
A federal court upheld on Wednesday, December 4, the dismissal of a case alleging 7 World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11 because of its poor design, the New York Daily News reported.
Vermont
Attorney General William Sorrell urged the U.S. Supreme Court this week to make it easier for businesses that successfully defend meritless patent infringement claims to recover legal fees.
West Virginia
The state may raise, for the first time since 1979, the minimum auto insurance coverage a driver must carry, the Charleston Gazette reported, in this Tuesday, December 10, article.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
News organizations and bloggers are reporting on today’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing on the July 2013 plane crash at San Francisco’s International Airport. Others are live tweeting about developments as they occur at the all-day NTSB session, which is being held in Washington, D.C.
Another popular topic in social media is identity theft. The holiday season is when many shoppers are vulnerable to identity theft. As such, news and insurance organizations are getting the word out on how consumers can protect themselves. On that note, the I.I.I.’s press release on ID theft has received a fair amount of pick up.
In other I.I.I. news, Bob Hartwig’s appearance on WRIN-TV, in which he spoke about the industry’s performance in 2013 and the outlook for 2014, has been viewed over 55 times since the I.I.I. posted the video last week.
MEDIA MATTERS
Beginning in January 2014, Gannett will add 12 to 14 pages of USA Today content each day to 35 Gannett-owned newspapers in its largest markets, including The Journal News in White Plains, NY, The Tennessean in Nashville and The Cincinnati Enquirer, according to this Tuesday, December 10, New York Times article.
The potential sale of Buffalo’s ABC affiliate, as well as seven other Granite Broadcasting-owned TV stations, was the subject of this Tuesday, December 10, Buffalo Business First story.
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
For an I.I.I. Blog search, click here.
A comparable synopsis will be circulated each week.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to give me a call.
