To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’s conference call, here are some of the key media stories, and the messages we’re conveying.
If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, December 30, please email Michael Barry at michaelb@iii.org
P/C insurance industry’s nine-month, 2009 net income figures and overall profitability rebound: ISO and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) announced in this Tuesday, December 22, press release that private U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $16.2 billion through the first nine months of 2009, partially recovering from the 91.2 percent decline to $4.4 billion through the first nine months of 2008.
I.I.I. president offers commentary on ISO/PCI financial report’s findings: The P/C insurance industry reported an annualized statutory rate of return on average surplus of 4.5 percent through the first nine months of 2009, up sharply from negative 1.2 percent during the same period in 2008. The results provide solid evidence of a substantial and sustained rebound in profitability for P/C insurers in the wake of the financial crisis that began in mid-2007, according to an analysis of the industry’s financials by I.I.I. president Robert Hartwig. As recently as the first quarter of 2009, he writes, the industry recorded a negative rate of return. Moreover, stable investment market conditions and modest catastrophe losses since the end of the third quarter through late December 2009 guarantee that full-year profitability in 2009 will be much higher than the 0.5 percent return recorded in 2008.
J.D. Powers study says U.S. auto policyholders have slightly better claims experience than homeowners policyholders: Graded on a 1,000 point scale, those who filed an auto claim gave their insurers an average consumer satisfaction score of 842 whereas this figure dropped a little more than 1 percent, to 828, when homeowners insurance claim satisfaction was graded, according to this Tuesday, December 22, press release from J.D. Power and Associates.
I.I.I. has starring role in A.M. Best’s five-part video series Decade of Change: The I.I.I.’s Hartwig, Steve Weisbart and Jeanne Salvatore appear in the first of this five-part online video series that focuses on the major insurance events of 2000-2009. It debuted on Wednesday, December 23, with this segment (subscription required), and will be rolled out on A.M. Best’s Web site through Wednesday, December 30.
3.1 magnitude earthquake is felt in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky: This Tuesday, December 22, Associated Press story discusses the four small quakes which occurred within the past week near New Madrid, in southeast Missouri. The 3.1-magnitude quake on Friday, December 18, was felt in Missouri and parts of three other states, according to the article. No damage was reported.
U.S. more ‘tsunami ready’ than it was five years ago, I.I.I. says: Pegged to the approaching five-year anniversary of the devastating Indonesian tsunami, which occurred on December 26, 2004, the I.I.I. examined in a Wednesday, December 23, press release how the U.S. has invested additional resources in making coastal communities more ‘tsunami ready.’
Wall Street Journal highlights HUD’s bid to assist homeowners affected by Chinese drywall: The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has directed lenders to extend temporary assistance to certain homeowners affected by defective Chinese drywall, according to a Wednesday, December 23, Wall Street Journal (subscription required) story. Eligibility for HUD assistance is being extended only to borrowers whose mortgages are insured by the Federal Housing Administration as well as those who may qualify for help under an existing mortgage-forbearance program intended to prevent foreclosures, the article states.
St. Petersburg Times editorial board analyzes Florida-State Farm accord: The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s (OIR) decision to approve a 14.8 percent homeowners rate increase for State Farm Florida’s policyholders, while allowing the insurer to drop 125,000 policies in exchange for continuing to write in Florida, does not solve the state’s property insurance problems but provides time to work on broader solutions, this Friday, December 18, editorial states.
Georgia insurance commissioner’s actions made on behalf of major campaign contributor scrutinized: WSB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, broadcast a three-plus minute investigative piece on Tuesday, December 15, regarding Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine’s trip to the Academy Awards ceremony a few years ago, his apparent efforts to intervene on behalf of a medical doctor/campaign contributor who accompanied Oxendine and his wife to that same event in California, and how the episode came to light because of a lawsuit filed in Indiana. Oxendine, a Republican, is running for governor in 2010. One of his GOP rivals, Karen Handel, Georgia’s Secretary of State, has announced she is resigning from office to campaign full-time.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports on major regulatory fine levied against life/health insurer: MEGA, a North Richland Hills, Texas-based life and health insurer, has been late in paying undisputed claims in Texas and other states, the Star-Telegram reports, in a Monday, December 21, article. The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry and the Southwestern Insurance Information Service’s Jerry Johns are quoted in the story.
Maryland Insurance Commissioner Ralph Tyler leaving office on Friday, January 8: The Baltimore Sun reported on Commissioner Tyler’s decision to become chief counsel at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its Thursday, December 17, edition.His first day at the FDA is Tuesday, January 19.
Virginia Beach auto thefts rise because motorists leave keys in car while running errands in cold weather: WVEC-TV , the ABC affiliate in Norfolk, Virginia, offered that assessment of the situation on its Tuesday, December 22, broadcast. Thefts in Virginia Beach involving instances where the car was still running when stolen are up 13 percent over the past year, police say.
Tennessee auto insurance premiums may rise slightly in 2010: The anticipated premium rate increases for Tennessee drivers, estimated at anywhere from less than 1 percent to 6.5 percent, track the national average increase of around 4 percent, the I.I.I.’s Hartwig told the Tennessean, for this Monday, December 21, article.
Detroit Free Press columnist argues unlimited medical benefits are driving Michigan’s auto premium rates: Columnist Tom Walsh spoke with Tom Wilson, Allstate’s CEO and a Michigan native, for this Sunday, December 20, piece. Michigan needs auto insurance reforms that will end practices such as paying unlimited lifetime medical benefits to people injured in Michigan car accidents, Walsh writes.
New Jersey state Assemblyman’s bill would require broader disclosure of disciplinary actions taken against insurers: Assemblyman Jack Conners (D-Delran) has introduced a measure that would require New Jersey-licensed insurers to provide the state’s Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) with a report of any disciplinary action taken against them by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or any other non-governmental regulatory authority within 30 days of the final outcome, according to a Tuesday, December 22, Star Ledger story. The Assemblyman is a member of that chamber’s Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.
Norfolk, Virginia’s ABC affiliate prepping Chinese drywall story: The I.I.I.’s Barry gave a taped phone interview to WVEC-TV on Wednesday, December 23, for a piece they are readying on a Virginia lawmaker’s introduction of a bill that would ban the issuance of non-renewals to homeowners with defective Chinese drywall. The on-air reporter filing the story is Shannon Sims.
Syndicated personal finance columnist Jean Chatzky writing about consumer steps that could hamper the insurance claims-filing process The I.I.I.’s Salvatore spoke recently with Arielle McGowen, a researcher for Chatzky, for an upcoming piece about actions that policyholders take that may hurt the handling of their insurance claim. The final story will appear in the New York Daily News and other publications that carry Chatzky’s column.
New York Times’ BUCKS blog looking at ways to save money on insured wine, car and/or art work collections: San Francisco-based New York Times reporter Jennifer Saranow (jennifer.saranow@gmail.com) discussed with the I.I.I.’s Salvatore this week whether consumers can lower their insurance premiums if the value of their covered wine, car, or art work collection is deemed to have decreased. Saranow’s daily BUCKS blog is here.
Inc magazine, new American Express Web site looking at business insurance: The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters gave a lengthy interview this week to freelancer Elizabeth Wasserman, who is doing two business insurance-related stories. Her Inc piece is on ‘How to choose business insurance,’ and her piece for Amex’s The Inside Edge, a Web site set to launch in early 2010, will look at ‘How much insurance is too much?’ Wasserman’s angle for the latter: before renewing current business policies, companies should inventory their physical assets, employees and risks, and then decide how much insurance is enough.
New York Times’ home section is told about one-third of all NYC burglaries occur in homes that are unlocked: Reporter Joyce Wadler’s source on this number is authoritative: the New York City (NYC) Police Department is apparently giving her the 33 percent figure. Wadler’s researcher, who contacted the I.I.I., said the final article may also cite a December 2008 State Farm survey, which found that 9 out of ten respondents said they did not realize a typical thief’s number one entry point when burglarizing a home is the front door.
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