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 20, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I. CONDUCTS MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS AS MISSISSIPPI RIVER OVERFLOWS
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore and Lynne McChristian appeared live on The Weather Channel over the past week to discuss flood insurance while the I.I.I.’s Michael Barry covered the same topic with KMOX-AM, St. Louis, Missouri’s all-news radio station.
I.I.I.’s CALIFORNIA REPRESENTATIVE BRIEFS CNBC ON FLOOD INSURANCE IMPLICATIONS OF EL NIÑO
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz appeared in a CNBC segment this week amid reports Californians are buying more FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies. One of them is CNBC reporter Jane Wells.
I.I.I. TRAVELS TO SCENE OF DEADLY TEXAS TORNADOES; BRIEFS MEDIA ON COVERAGE ISSUES
The I.I.I.’s McChristian arrived in the Dallas area days after an EF-4 tornado swept through the region. She discussed on-air the coverage issues raised by the severe weather with three news radio stations.
U.S. INSURERS PAID OUT AT LEAST $10 BILLION IN 2015 FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE CAUSED BY TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS, MUNICH RE ESTIMATES
USA Today also discussed the severe winter weather of early 2015, and how it contributed significantly to the $15 billion in total insured losses from U.S. natural disasters last year.
THE CASUALTY ACTUARIAL SOCIETY (CAS) APPOINTS ITS FIRST-EVER IN-HOUSE ACTUARY
Dr. Richard Gorvett is joining the Arlington, Virginia-based organization on Tuesday, January 19. Gorvett served most recently as director of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s actuarial science program.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig is taping on Wednesday, February 3, an interview with PBS’s Frontline. The program will examine how FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and its Write Your Own (WYO) companies, responded to 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. The tentative air date is early May 2016.
Hartwig spoke today (Wednesday) with Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register business reporter Tim Landis re: property damage severity trends in the U.S. auto insurance market.
The I.I.I.’s Ruiz is working with The Los Angeles Times’ Matt Stevens (El Niño and flood insurance), Univision Los Angeles’ Annette Garcia (California Earthquake Authority policy changes) and The Daily Oklahoman’s Brianna Bailey (earthquake insurance).
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters talked to Leslie Scism of the The Wall Street Journal about aggressive driving, and its impact on an individuals auto insurance rates.
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry provided information to The Chattanooga Times Free Press’ (TN) Shelly Bradbury about states that allow law enforcement to tow a vehicle, if the driver is unable to present proof of auto insurance coverage. Tennessee enacted a new law to that effect.
CAPITOL HILL
The U.S. Justice Department filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a civil lawsuit in Detroit against Volkswagen AG for its attempts to circumvent emissions tests, and is expected to seek substantial monetary penalties from the German automaker.
The Obama administration is weighing how to regulate commercial drones so they do not violate the privacy of consumers when either delivering packages or conducting surveillance, according to Politico.
STATES
Alabama
Governor Robert Bentley has asked the state’s Emergency Management Agency to assess whether flood-damaged portions of Alabama, such as Winston County, are eligible for federal assistance.
California
A workers compensation prescription formulary approved last October might prevent the dispensation of unneeded painkillers in 2016, Business Insurance reports (subscription required).
Florida
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is resigning effective Monday, May 2.
Clearwater-based Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company is one of the fastest growing insurers in the U.S. because state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corporation repeatedly sends them thousands of prospective policyholders, The Palm Beach Post reports.
The state Legislature reconvenes on Tuesday, January 12. One measure to be considered this year, Senate Bill 1118, would require transportation network company (TNC) drivers to operate at all times with sufficient auto insurance.
Louisiana
The Old River Overbank Structure was opened by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week ahead of rising water levels on the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers.
The Corps of Engineers also anticipates opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway in St. Charles Parish prior to this weekend (January 9-10) to protect the levees near New Orleans from the Mississippi River’s rising water.
Massachusetts
The Division of Insurance ought to reconsider the rate increases it has granted to some of the state’s largest homeowners insurers and conduct public hearings on whether they were justified, according to the chairman of the state Senate’s Post Audit and Oversight committee.
Minnesota
Drivers must present proof of auto insurance when registering, or re-registering, their vehicle with the state’s Driver and Vehicle Services division, under a new law that took effect on Friday, January 1. The I.I.I. is cited as a source in The Star Tribune article.
Mississippi
The president approved a major disaster declaration, making individuals in five counties—Benton, Coahoma, Marshall, Quitman and Tippah—eligible for federal assistance due to the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding which struck those parts of the state between December 23–28, 2015.
Missouri
The president approved a major disaster declaration for the city of St. Louis, and dozens of counties statewide, for the severe weather and flooding that has occurred there dating back to December 22, 2015.
New York
The I.I.I. issued a media advisory on boat insurance as the annual Progressive New York Boat Show (January 6–10) began in mid-town Manhattan.
North Carolina
Three candidates are vying for the Republican insurance commissioner nomination on Tuesday, March 15. The eventual GOP nominee will face incumbent Commissioner Wayne Goodwin in the general election on Tuesday, November 8.
Oklahoma
The number of 3.0-magnitude-plus earthquakes statewide grew dramatically in 2015 to 875, with the most recent quakes striking near Edmond, an Oklahoma City suburb, in the final days of 2015. There were 585 quakes that met the 3.0-magnitude criterion in 2014.
Oregon
Drivers can expect to pay more for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage because of the enactment of Senate Bill 411’s, KTVZ.com reports. The new law took effect on Saturday, January 2.
MEDIA MATTERS
Mandy Drury, co-host CNBC’s Power Lunch, is leaving CNBC to return home to Australia.
Boston Globe employees delivered copies of the paper’s print editions to home delivery subscribers last weekend after ACI Media Group, its new vendor, was unable to accommodate about 10 percent of the Globe’s customers.
Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of The Las Vegas Review-Journal was examined in a front-page New York Times story.
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
