SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL July 10, 2013

To recap the issues raised during today’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, July 17, please email Loretta Worters at lorettaw@iii.org.

 

The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig tweeted about his availability for media interviews regarding the insurance implications of the Saturday, July 6, crash within an hour after it occurred. In addition, the I.I.I. distributed that afternoon its facts and statistics on aviation coverage. The New York Times explored the survivors’ ability to sue the airline in U.S. courts in a Tuesday, July 9, article.

Chantal did, however, prompt three Carnival cruise ships to change their itineraries this week, according to a Wednesday, July 10, USA Today article.

Two L/H impairments occurred in both 2011 and 2012. 1962’s single impairment is the only historical precedent, according to this Monday, July 8, A.M. Best report (subscription required).

Natural disasters that occurred worldwide between January-June 2013, including floods, earthquakes, thunderstorm events and heat waves, caused $45 billion in economic losses, far below the 10-year average of $85 billion, according to a Tuesday, July 9, webinar co-hosted by Munich Re and the I.I.I.

The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published data on insurance industry employment as of May 2013, and the I.I.I.’s Hartwig analyzed the numbers.

 

The documentary filmmakers for The Heart of the Shore, tentatively scheduled to premiere on HBO on October 29, Sandy’s one-year anniversary, taped an interview with the I.I.I.’s Hartwig on Wednesday, July 10, at the I.I.I.’s Manhattan office. Hartwig discussed the role the insurance industry has played in rebuilding the New Jersey coastline….The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry shared with ABC Evening News correspondent Ron Claiborne industry data on auto thefts for a Wednesday, July 10, story on the Highway Loss Data Institute’s (HDLI) findings on which cars are most popular these days with U.S. thieves….The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore is still working with The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Lippman for a piece he is preparing on disaster preparedness and insurance, and with Bankrate.com’s Jay McDonald for an article on the link between the premium a homeowner pays for coverage, and the type of roof they have on their residence….The I.I.I.’s Barry spoke this week with Frank Gray, a Fort Wayne, Indiana Journal Gazette columnist, who is exploring the downsides to carrying only the mandatory minimum amount of liability coverage on a private-passenger vehicle, and to Lisa Bowe, a National Geographic TV producer, who is doing research on insurance coverage for sinkhole-caused damage.

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) unveiled on Tuesday, July 9, legislation that would alter public pensions by having life insurance companies pay benefits through annuity contracts. 

The Homeowners Hurricane Insurance Initiative (HHII), a civic group formed to resolve coastal insurance issues, met on Thursday, July 11, in Foley, the Mobile Press-Register reported.

The Chariot fire, which has burned thousands of San Diego County acres, destroyed a majority of the structures at two camps, according to this Tuesday, July 9, San Diego Tribune article.

 

Homesite Insurance Company agreed to pay a penalty of $350,000, and refund premium overcharges to over 70 policyholders, according to this Wednesday, July 3, news release issued by the California Department of Insurance (CDI). 

 

The state retained a vendor to help law enforcement verify whether a driver is carrying insurance, according to this Wednesday, July 3, Associated Press article, but the new program’s roll-out has been delayed. Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney’s views on the initiative were highlighted in a segment broadcast on Sunday, July 6, on Biloxi’s ABC affiliate.  

 

The Biloxi Sun Herald published on Saturday, July 6, an Associated Press story on Congressional efforts to delay premium rate hikes FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is implementing nationally in accordance with 2012’s Biggert-Waters Act.

 

Effective Wednesday, August 28,drivers will be able to show proof of auto insurance through either a smart phone or other mobile device, instead of keeping a paper insurance card in their vehicle. The new law also lets insurers deliver policies to their customers electronically, according to this Tuesday, July 9, St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

 

The state’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) is investigating whether the Jericho, NY-based Tri-State Consumer Insurance Company (TSC Direct) is illegally refusing to participate in a mediation program to help Sandy victims get fair settlements; according to this Wednesday, July 10, Newsday print edition story.

Governor Tom Corbett’s 2013-14 budget and a new law gives the Insurance Department (PID) access to a dedicated funding source, according to this Monday, July 8, PID news release.

Tweets and retweets from this week’s Munich Re-I.I.I. webinar have filled Twitter with facts and statistics about the natural disasters that have occurred so far in 2013. Insurance professionals are talking about thunderstorms, tornadoes, fires, and climate change.

 

The I.I.I.’s I’s on Insurance: Your Homeowners Coverage video continues to get attention on YouTube and Twitter; insurance agents are using it as a way to educate policyholders about their homeowners insurance coverage. 

The Tribune Company announced on Wednesday morning, July 10, that it will spin off its newspaper assets into a separate company.

The market value of television stations reaching viewers in swing states, such as Virginia and Ohio, has grown in part because of the revenues they receive from political campaigns, this front page story in the Monday, July 8, New York Times reports.

 

Elisabeth Hasselback is leaving ABC’s The View and will succeed Gretchen Carlson in mid-September as one of the co-hosts of Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends program.

 

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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