SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL February 1, 2012

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, February 8, please email Mike Barry at Michaelb@iii.org

 

Auto accidents staged by scam operators in order to receive payments through insurance fraud are driving up the cost of insurance in no-fault states such as Florida, according to a Thursday, January 26, segment, which was broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. The I.I.I. and the National Insurance Crime Bureau are cited in the piece.

 

Competitive marketplaces are essential if auto insurance premiums are to remain affordable, the I.I.I. said, in this Monday, January 30, news release, distributed hours after the CFA issued a report saying lower and moderate income Americans pay too much for auto insurance. CNNMoney.com and The Huffington Post were among those who filed stories on the topic.

Two people were killed in Alabama on Sunday, January 22, by the recent twisters, USA Today’s Monday, January 30, article noted. The U.S. Storm Prediction Center’s Warning Coordination Meteorologist Greg Carbin told the paper the unexpectedly warm temperatures nationwide in January helped fuel severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. 

Auto insurers scored an 855 on a 1,000-point scale in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a report released on Tuesday, January 31, by JD Power & Associates.

 

Ben Tomchik joined AIA’s Washington, D.C., office last month, having most recently worked as a writer and fundraising strategist for the Dean of The George Washington University School of Business. Prior to his stint in academia, Ben worked at The White House during the George W. Bush administration where he served in the Office of Presidential Correspondence and the Office of Presidential Scheduling and Appointments. He recently earned a master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from The George Washington University. Ben’s email address is btomchik@aiadc.org, and his direct line is 202-828-7129.  His portfolio at AIA will include media relations, editor and contributor to AIA’s internal and external publications, oversight of AIA’s social media platforms and grassroots advocacy. 

 

On Sunday, January 22, a multi-car crash on I-75 caused numerous deaths, near Gainesville, Florida. Governor Scott has ordered an investigation into why the state’s highway patrol reopened the highway after it had been closed because a nearby brush fire significantly lowered driver visibility in the area.

 

The Wall Street Journal’s Leslie Scism is readying an article on the growth of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and the financial condition of Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian has been working with Scism on the story.

 

Ron Sachs Communications is moderating a statewide media conference call on Thursday, February 9, at 11 a.m., ET to provide Hispanic media with information about Personal Injury Protection (PIP) reform efforts in Tallahassee. The call-in number is 1-866-200-9760 and the PIN # is 222-1991. The Pew Hispanic Center released a study last week which found that Hispanics believe they suffered more than most during the economic downturn in the U.S.

The board of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has retained a prominent law firm, agreeing to pay them upwards of $500,000. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is tasked with getting the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal to a Louisiana Supreme Court decision that calls for Citizens to pay a $100 million-plus judgment to its policyholders. The policyholders successfully sued Citizens, arguing their claims were processed too slowly after Hurricane Katrina.

Board members from the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (MWUA), also known as the wind pool, made their annual trip to London in January to meet with the reinsurers that provide coverage to protect the association’s finances should a major hurricane hit the state. For the 2011 hurricane season, the MWUA bought $815 million in reinsurance for $69 million, according to this Tuesday, January 31, Associated Press story. 

 

Governor Bentley’s Affordable Homeowners Insurance Commission is holding its fourth and final education session on Friday, February 10, at the Alabama Department of Archives & History Building, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama. The session gets underway at 9 a.m. and will include testimony from Amy Bach of United Policyholders (via teleconference) and Don Brown, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute and a former Florida state legislator.

 

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced on Friday, January 27, the settlement of litigation concerning efforts to curtail insurer investments in companies doing business in Iran. The case had been initiated by his immediate predecessor, former Insurance Commissioner Steven Poizner.

 

New Jersey’s new insurance commissioner takes office on Monday, February 13: Ken Kobylowski, currently Chief of Staff and Acting Director of Banking at the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, will replace outgoing Commissioner Tom Considine, who will leave the Christie administration effective February 10 for a position in the private sector. Considine will join MagnaCare, a health plan services company, as Chief Operating Officer.

 

Governor Patrick Quinn has announced the appointment of Andrew Boron as director of the state’s Department of Insurance. Boron was most recently vice president and counsel at the ACE Group, where he served as primary liaison to insurance departments in nine states, including Illinois.

ABC’s affiliate in Spokane, Washington, is preparing a story on whether the elimination of the city police department’s property theft unit, and the reassignment of those officers to general patrol, could adversely impact homeowners insurance rates in Spokane. 

NBC has promoted on-air investigative reporter Jeff Rossen and his producer, Robert Powell. Powell canceled a scheduled interview with the I.I.I.’s Hartwig in September 2011. It was to have touched in part on insurer claims-handling practices and the Bloomberg Markets 2007 cover story, ‘The Insurance Hoax.’  The I.I.I. has not heard back from NBC’s Powell since that time.

 

The big topic this week is the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) study, which asserted that auto insurer rating practices are driving up premium prices for low- and moderate-income households. It is getting some attention on consumer watchdog blogs. The I.I.I. vigorously contested the CFA’s claims in a news release, which became the I.I.I.’s “tweet of the week.”  In fact, it received the most notice and attention of any of the I.I.I.’s tweets in the past couple of weeks.   

 

Another topic that has been popping up a lot this week is Super Bowl party host liability, with journalists tweeting about this issue and pointing to online I.I.I. editorial content about being a responsible host.  The I.I.I. also issued a news release on the topic.

 

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.