To recap the issues raised during this week’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, January 27, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I. ISSUES NEWS RELEASE ON RECENT RISE IN U.S. WINTER STORM LOSSES (2013-15) AS BLIZZARD HEADS TOWARDS THE EAST COAST
Insured winter storm losses in the U.S. were estimated at $2.9 billion in 2015, having stood at $2.3 billion in 2014 and $1.9 billion in 2013. Winter storms generally account for about 7 percent of catastrophe losses annually for U.S. insurers.
I.I.I. POSTS ANNUAL JOINT INDUSTRY FORUM (JIF) NEWS RELEASES, VIDEOS AND SURVEY RESULTS
A.M. Best, Risk & Insurance magazine and Insurance Business America were among the trade publications who covered the JIF, held on Tuesday, January 12, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
I.I.I.’s CHECK20 EMAIL PROGRAM HELPS CONSUMERS ENSURE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT COVERAGE AND FINANCIAL PLANS IN PLACE
Jamey Ballot, the I.I.I.’s Director of Marketing and Content Strategy, oversees Check20, our consumer email program. Ballot can be contacted directly (jamesb@iii.org) if you want to know how to share Check20 with your audiences.
COST OF U.S MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE ROSE 5.7 PERCENT IN 2015, THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS (BLS) REPORTS
The federal government’s news release (see top of page 5) also says the cost for motor vehicle insurance increased 4.7 percent in 2014.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Steven Weisbart discussed the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s financial performance for 2015 with Gillian Rich of Investor’s Business Daily.
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig will talk about gun liability issues later this week with insurance writer Mark Vallet.
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters briefed Steve Jordon of the Omaha (Nebraska) World about business interruption insurance after a major fire shut down a restaurant.
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry spoke with David Sheingold of The Record in New Jersey (how auto insurers assess a policyholder’s driving record) and Long Island Newsday business columnist Carrie Mason-Draffen (wage insurance policies).
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz provided information to southern California’s National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate about coverage for transportation network company (TNC) drivers after State Farm announced it would offer a new TNC endorsement in California.
CAPITOL HILL
The family of one of three U.S. citizens on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared in March 2014, has sued the airline in federal court in Washington. The case is the second filed in a U.S. federal court relating to the incident.
STATES
Alabama
Governor Robert Bentley requested federal disaster assistance for 39 counties from FEMA after severe weather hit the state between December 23-31, 2015.
The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) has already said it will offer low-interest loans to businesses in 21 counties because of the state’s late December storms.
California
The I.I.I.’s Ruiz was interviewed by Sacramento’s ABC affiliate for a Monday, January 18, story on auto insurance and driverless cars.
Drone buyers would have to purchase insurance coverage for them under legislation proposed by state Assemblyman Michael Gatto, according to a segment broadcast on CBS’s Los Angeles affiliate.
About 28,000 new flood insurance policies were purchased by Californians between August and November 2015, FEMA reports.
The uninsured shrimp boat which ran aground recently in Ventura has since been dismantled.
The Contractors State License Board’s (CSLB) enforcement authority has been expanded (subscription required) following the enactment of Senate Bill 560.
Florida
Two people were killed and dozens of homes were destroyed when an EF-2 tornado swept through Duette (Manatee County), about 40 miles southeast of Tampa, on Sunday, January 17.
A tornado in Cape Coral on Saturday night, January 9, was the strongest in the area since 1953. The EF-2 tornado damaged about 200 homes.
Opt-out letters for policyholders of Citizens Property Insurance keep on coming, the Miami Herald reports.
The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian was quoted in a Palm Beach Post article about a survey that found only Michigan’s drivers fared worse than Florida’s when it came to saving on auto insurance after taking a higher deductible.
Louisiana
The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s board voted to submit new rates to the Insurance Department, with slight increases and decreases for current policyholders going into effect on June 30, 2016, depending upon where they live.
Maryland
The Insurance Administration is holding public hearing on the state of long-term care (LTC) insurance on Friday, January 22, at 10 a.m. in Catonsville.
Michigan
The president issued an emergency declaration for the state amid Flint’s (Genesee County) contaminated water crisis.
New Jersey
The I.I.I.’s James Lynch will comment on one of the workers compensation papers being submitted as part of a Rutgers Law School symposium on Friday, September 23, 2016. Billed as The Demise of The Grand Bargain, the event will be held on Rutgers’ Camden campus.
New York
A 70-year-old insurance agent who operated a Brooklyn business pled guilty to charges he stole nearly $4.5 million from his clients, in part by recommending they surrender insurance policies and invest the proceeds with him. The agent faces anywhere from four to 12 years in prison.
Oklahoma
Earthquake-related lawsuits and insurance were among the issues discussed at a Friday, January 15, public hearing at the state Capitol.
The state’s reluctance to restrict how much, and how fast, wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing could be pumped back underground—which has been done in Kansas—is a key reason intense earthquakes have continued in Oklahoma while those in Kansas were reduced, this Associated Press article states.
A study of the EF-5 tornado that devastated Moore in May 2013 said even the strongest buildings would have had trouble withstanding the intensity of its wind speeds.
Washington
The president approved a major disaster declaration, providing federal assistance to the 16 counties struck by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides between November 12–21, 2015.
MEDIA MATTERS
The Weather Channel’s Sam Champion says the media mischaracterized the reasons his morning program, AMHQ, was canceled.
The cable news channel Al Jazeera America is going off the air in April 2016.
Charles Osgood may leave CBS’s Sunday Morning program by year-end 2016.
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.
