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 13, please email me at michaelb@iii.org
GOVERNOR CUOMO WANTS TO SPEND UPWARDS OF $400 MILLION FOR STATE TO BUY SANDY-DAMAGED COASTAL RESIDENCES
The New York Times offered details on the Cuomo administration’s proposal in this article, which appeared on the front page of the paper’s Monday, February 4, edition.
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE SAYS INSURANCE INDUSTRY HAS PAID ABOUT 85 PERCENT OF ITS SANDY CLAIMS; CRITICIZES FEMA
Governor Christie estimated that only 30 percent of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Sandy claims had been resolved in New Jersey, a number FEMA disputed, according to this Wednesday, February 6, article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
I.I.I.’ s PRESIDENT IS QUOTED IN BLOOMBERG ARTICLE ON THE INSURANCE REPERCUSSIONS OF DRIVERLESS CARS
Bob Hartwig’s observations came during a panel discussion moderated by this article’s author at the Washington, D.C., Auto Show on Thursday, January 31.
REINSURANCE COMPANY’S CHAIRMAN AND CEO WRITES ARTICLE ON INSURANCE AND GUN SAFETY
The January 2013 article by GenRe’s chairman and CEO prompted New York City-based Bloomberg reporter Elizabeth Bunn to contact numerous I.I.I. member companies to get their reaction to the article.
REUTERS, HARTFORD COURANT ALSO RAN STORIES ON GUN OWNERSHIP AND LIABILITY THIS WEEK
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig was quoted in Ian Simpson’s Reuters article on the topic while a Dickinson College professor offered his views on the matter in The Hartford Courant last weekend.
CONSUMER REPORTS, ASBURY PARK PRESS, MINNEAPOLIS PAPER, LONG ISLAND TV STATION, AND UPSTATE NY NEWSPAPER HAVE STORIES IN WORKS
The I.I.I’s Jeanne Salvatore gave an interview to CR’s Jeff Blyskal on the circumstances under which a homeowners insurance policy would cover water damage…the Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press’ Ken Serrano is preparing a piece which says FEMA’s NFIP may in the future charge some of its coastal policyholders more than $30,000 a year in flood insurance premiums….the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Jennifer Bjorhus interviewed the I.I.I.’s Mike Barry on how an insurer assesses a home’s replacement cost value; her story is pegged to a lawsuit focusing on this issue.…the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters taped an interview in Melville, NY (Long Island), on Thursday, February 7, with CBS-owned WLNY-TV’s Richard Rose regarding the industry’s Sandy response. It aired in the New York area on Channels 10/55 on Sunday, February 10..The Times Herald-Record, a daily newspaper covering New York State’s lower Hudson Valley, spoke with the I.I.I.’s Steve Weisbart about a contested life insurance policy disbursement which dates back to the policyholder’s death in 2008. Reporter John Sullivan said the case is relevant in 2013 because the beneficiary of that policy has since been elected to public office.
CAPITOL HILL
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) was interviewed this week by Steve Crocker, a reporter with the Fox affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, on the IIHS’s support of a National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposal to require the installation of event data recorders (EDRs) in all light vehicles starting in 2014.
The American Insurance Association issued a news release on Tuesday, February 5, praising the introduction of a Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) extension bill in the U.S. House.
Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), is in line to become the next U.S. Transportation Secretary, according to numerous published stories.
STATE NEWS
South Carolina
Ray Farmer’s confirmation hearing to become the next director of the state’s Insurance Department focused on coastal property insurance issues, the Post Courier reports.
Florida
The I.I.I. will participate in a consumer education expo in Miami on Tuesday, March 12, sitting on a panel to help explain property insurance issues. If your company would like to be part of this educational outreach sponsored by Mercado de Dinero US, visit Consumiami 2013 or contact the I.I.I.’s Elianne González at elianneg@iii.org.
California
State Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) is sponsoring legislation which would require California’s gun owners to purchase liability coverage, NBC Latino reports.
Eight people died after a tour bus crashed east of Los Angeles on Sunday evening, February 3. CBS News reported that the bus’s brakes may have failed.
Governor Brown wants to find new uses for the monies raised from a $150 annual ‘fire protection’ levy paid by 825,000 mostly rural property owners, while some lawmakers favor rescinding the fee altogether, according to this Wednesday, February 6, Sacramento Bee article. These revenues have been going to California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Georgia
Insured losses totaling $75 million could arise out of the tornado which swept throughAdairsville, Georgia, on Wednesday, January 30, the Insurance Department estimates.
Mississippi
Despite being given little chance of passage, a Long Beach, Mississippi, man who lost his coastal home to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is supporting legislation which would stipulate that, in civil actions against property/casualty insurers, insurers would have to provide “a preponderance of evidence” to justify that an exclusion applies, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports.
Illinois
Governor Quinn urged widespread public participation in the Great U.S. Central Shakeout on Thursday, February 7, an announcement made in an Emergency Management Agency news release. Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma were also involved in that day’s earthquake preparedness drill.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
The I.I.I.’s Tuesday, February 5, news release about Maximizing Your Insurance Dollars While Avoiding Five Common Insurance Mistakes is getting great pick-up on Twitter with real estate agents, insurance companies, Insure.com and even Kathy Ireland all re-tweeting the link. The tone around this conversation was positive as people shared the content, agreeing it offered very useful information.
Another trending topic on both Twitter and Facebook is winter sports and injuries, linking back to the I.I.I.’s facts and statistics on the subject, along with a related story on winter hazards and protecting your home from ice. Insurance companies were the conversation starters for both of these stories.
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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