To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’s conference call, here are some of the key media stories, and the messages we’re conveying.
NBC’s Today Show consults the I.I.I. for segment on severe winter weather and insurance coverage issues:
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore provided extensive information to NBC producer Robert Ciridon for a piece that aired on the show’s Saturday, February 5, broadcast. Amy Feldman, a consumer law expert, was the Today Show’s on-air guest.AIR Worldwide estimates early February storms caused anywhere from $780 million to $1.4 billion in insured losses:
Tim Doggett, AIR’s principal scientist, told Bloomberg for this Friday, February 4, article that high winds are expected to create even more drifting of snow, which could cause additional roof collapses, with light metal, long-span roofs being particularly at risk. Boston-based AIR said that at least 70 roofs were reported to have collapsed in the Boston area alone. I.I.I. data about winter storms causing more than $25 billion in insured losses over the last decade, representing the third-largest cause of catastrophic loss, after hurricanes and tornadoes, got into the Bloomberg piece, as well.Associated Press picks up on I.I.I. release, giving national exposure to I.I.I.’s insurance tips for business owners:
This Tuesday, February 8, I.I.I. news release linked to the AIR loss estimate statement from Friday, February 4, and got widespread pick-up in media outlets such as ABC’s network news and The Richmond Times-Dispatch after the AP’s Joyce Rosenberg filed a story based on the I.I.I.’s information.
Weather Channel’s prime-time audience nearly triples as deep freeze impacts dozens of U.S. states:
The NBC-owned Weather Channel saw its national, prime-time audience of about 329,000 viewers grow to approximately 940,000 on the nights of Monday, January 31, and Tuesday, February 1, according to this Sunday, February 6, New York Times article.Reuters offers an in-depth look at how the severe winter weather in the U.S. has impacted the insurance industry:
New York-based Ben Berkowitz spoke with the chief executives of the Institute for Business & Home Safety and The Hartford, among others, for a broad assessment of the insurance issues raised by the severe winter weather. It was posted on the Reuters wire on Wednesday, February 9.
MSNBC.com reporter examines how the unusual winter weather worldwide has disrupted the food supply chain in some nations:
The I.I.I.’s Robert Hartwig is quoted in here, as is a Munich Re study. The text of the article was last updated at MSNBC.com on Thursday morning, February 10, after first appearing a day earlier.I.I.I. working with Advertising Age for upcoming story on U.S. auto insurance marketing trends:
Advertising Age’s E.J. Schultz spoke to the I.I.I.’s Hartwig and received information from the I.I.I.’s Salvatore for a story Schultz is preparing on the ways U.S. auto insurance companies distinguish themselves from their competitors (Phone: 312-397-7582, email: eschultz@adage.com).Bloomberg reporter assessing pricing trends in the U.S. commercial insurance market:
Carolyn Bandel, a Switzerland-based Bloomberg reporter, is researching pricing trends in the U.S. commercial lines market. Bandel’s email address is cbandel@bloomberg.net. The I.I.I. has provided background information on the issue to her.
Connecticut-based Associated Press reporter gathering information on crop insurance:
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore sent AP reporter Steven Singer I.I.I. background information on this part of the industry insurance, and he indicated he may return to it at some point for a more detailed analysis of who writes this type of coverage.Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is moving too quickly without insurers’ input, advocacy trades argue:
Reuters posted this Wednesday, February 9, article, which discusses a letter insurers sent to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and key lawmakers, reminding them that FSOC does not as yet have an independent member with insurance expertise, as the Dodd-Frank legislation said it should. The letter also noted the Treasury Department has not as yet appointed its first Federal Insurance Office (FIO) director, another Dodd-Frank provision.Federal government’s investigation into Toyota’s safety problems found no electronic flaws to account for reports of sudden, unintentional acceleration:
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) officials and engineers with NASA say two mechanical safety defects previously identified by the federal government — sticking accelerator pedals and gas pedals that can become trapped in floor mats — are the only known causes for the reports of runaway Toyotas. Both issues were the subject of large recalls by Toyota. The DOT’s Tuesday, February 8, news release links to the full report.
Michigan Congresswoman makes it official, offers legislation calling for the end of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP):
National Underwriter’s (subscription required) Tuesday, February 8, online story on House Resolution 435 says Rep. Candice Miller’s (R-Michigan) legislation calls for phasing out the NFIP by the end of 2013.
Southwestern Insurance Information Service (SIIS) warns Oklahomans about unscrupulous roofing contractors:
The SIIS’s Wednesday, February 2, news release was issued in the aftermath of a major winter snowstorm in that state.
NPR station in northern Colorado broadcasts story on policyholder dissatisfaction with September 2010 wildfire claimshandling:
“Boulder Fire Victims Call for Reforms” was the headline of this four-minute plus segment broadcast by KUNC, a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliated station in northern Colorado, which sent a reporter to a Wednesday, February 3, town hall hearing on the issue.
Mobile Press-Register reports on how a new Risk Management Solutions (RMS) computer model shows that inland homeowners face hurricane higher risks than previously believed:
Revisiting an issue that was first covered in the Florida media a few weeks ago, this Sunday, February 6, front page story in the Press-Register talks about the role computer models, particularly a new one RMS is about to release, have on the public policy debates concerning property insurance affordability and availability.
Alabama state Senator believes his coastal insurance reforms will find more receptive audience in the upcoming legislative session:
In its Monday, February 7, edition, the Press-Register published a story pegged to an interview with state Senator Ben Brooks (R-Mobile). Senator Brooks, while acknowledging his proposals have gained little traction in the past, said the new make-up of the state Legislature makes it more likely lawmakers will pass legislation aimed at requiring greater insurer transparency and offer tax breaks to improve the private insurance market.
Alabama Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling recovering from quadruple-bypass surgery:
Commissioner Ridling’s prognosis is very good, and he will be back to work full-time soon, according to chief of staff Ragan Ingram, who spoke with the Press-Register in late January about the matter. The 66-year-old insurance commissioner was an appointee of former Governor Riley and was asked to stay in office by Governor Bentley.
South Carolina’s state Senate considering legislation that would extend insurance coverage to construction defects under a commercial general liability (CGL) policy:
SB 431 is being opposed by advocacy trades such as Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. PCI issued this news release on the measure on Tuesday, February 8. The bill is aimed at reversing a recent South Carolina Supreme Court decision, Crossman Communities of North Carolina, Inc. v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co., which held that faulty workmanship by a contractor or subcontractor cannot be considered an “occurrence” in a CGL policy.
Head of TV operations at Bloomberg News named president of CBS News:
David Rhodes, the 37-year-old head of Bloomberg News’ TV operations in the U.S., is joining CBS as the president of its news division. Rhodes starts at CBS on Tuesday, February 22.
Former BusinessWeek editor-in-chief appointed new editor-in-chief of Reuters News:
Steven Adler’s appointment was announced in this Monday, February 7, news release.
AOL purchases Huffington Post for $315 million:
The Huffington Post website offered details on the transaction in this Monday, February 7, news release.
- Florida Governor Rick Scott unveiled his budget proposal, which indicated that expenditure cuts may lie ahead for the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR): South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporter Julie Patel’s insurance blog on suggested regulatory cuts explains that the OIR’s $28 million budget would stay about the same in 2011-2012 then decrease 8 percent to less than $26 million by 2012-2013. The OIR’s workforce current includes about 290 positions. The regulatory agency lost 14 positions after seeing a $1.9 million decrease in funding in 2009, Patel writes.
- A Florida state Senate committee delayed voting on a proposed property insurance bill on Monday, February 7. This Associated Press story reported on the delay, explaining that the Banking and Insurance Committee chairman, state Senator Garrett Richter (R-Naples), wants to hear more testimony. The sinkhole issue is the most controversial component of a property insurance reform measure that is being considered. The committee knocked down a series of amendments offered by Florida state Senator Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey). Senator Fasano, who represents a district that includes two of the three counties hit hardest by sinkhole claims, fears that insurers would refuse to provide sinkhole coverage if SB 408 is adopted in its present form.
- The South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s blog post on the Senate meeting on insurance said two homeowners who traveled from the Keys to Tallahassee for the hearing were allowed to speak since they had traveled the furthest. They said the bill does not do enough to protect consumers.
- The first item in the Tuesday, February 8, I.I.I. Daily, a Wall Street Journal (subscription required) article on a court decision involving Facebook generated significant activity in the blogosphere. The WSJ reported that American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc. a Connecticut-based ambulance service that fired a worker after she posted negative remarks about her boss on Facebook, had settled a complaint brought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), agreeing to revise its rules to ensure they do not restrict employees’ rights. American Medical agreed not to discipline or fire employees for engaging in discussions about wages and other work issues when not on the job. The worker, Dawnmarie Souza, who was represented by the Teamsters Union before the NLRB, had posted negative remarks on her Facebook page from her home computer. The remarks drew supportive comments from her co-workers. The case was seen as a test of how much leeway workers have in using social media from home. Details of a separate agreement between the firm and Souza were not publicly disclosed, according to the WSJ.
