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, July 22, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I.’s PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS STATE LAWMAKERS ON THE ISSUE OF PRICE OPTIMIZATION ON FRIDAY, JULY 17
Bob Hartwig’s PowerPoint is being delivered at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) session on ‘Insurance Data Mining: Sound Business Practice or Unfair Discrimination?’ NCOIL’s summer meeting (July 16-19) is in Indianapolis.
I.I.I.-MUNICH RE WEBINAR OFFERS NATIONAL, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON FIRST-HALF 2015 NATURAL DISASTERS
The joint presentation is available at https://www.munichre.com/us/property-casualty/events/webinar/2015-07-natcatreview/index.html.
SEVERE WEATHER IN KENTUCKY, MINNESOTA GENERATE NATIONAL HEADLINES
Fatalities occurred this week because of flash flooding in Kentucky’s Johnson and Rowan counties while four unconfirmed tornadoes caused property damage in three western Minnesota counties: Grant, Otter Tail, and Wilkin.
NEW YORKER MAGAZINE EXAMINES THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST’S VULNERABILITY TO A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE
The article appears in the publication’s Monday, July 20, edition.
CAPITOL HILL
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) will deliver a speech, Dodd-Frank Five Years Later: An America Less Free, Less Prosperous, and Less Stable, on Tuesday, July 21, at 2:30 p.m., at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
Amtrak said in a Friday, July 10, court filing that it would not fight lawsuits from plaintiffs seeking damages in the wake of Amtrak’s May 12 derailment in Philadelphia.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
In a follow-up to the I.I.I.-Munich Re webinar, ClimateWire is examining if there is a link between National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) rate hikes, and the percentage of NFIP policyholders who then choose to let these policies lapse.
Joe Fahey, an energy reporter with the Associated Press, is interested in doing a piece on the Lloyd’s white paper on the U.S. power grid’s exposure to a cyberattack.
The I.I.I’s Loretta Worters briefed Becky Yerak of the Chicago Tribune on the insured losses which arise each year from lightning strikes.
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry spoke to Nick DiUlio of InsuranceQuotes.com about a survey the website conducted on the cost of insuring teenaged drivers.
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz provided information to a Century 21 magazine regarding the types of homeowner’s coverage a person needs to consider purchasing when insuring against floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes.
STATES
California
More than 50 small earthquakes were recorded in Ventura County late last week, with the most intense one (2.7-magnitude) felt three miles east of Fillmore, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Artemis S.A., a French company, has agreed to pay $200 million, in addition to the $110 million it paid previously, to settle a 16-year-old lawsuit which arose out of the 1991 liquidation of Executive Life Insurance Company.
Florida
A&E’s American Takedown segment on the state’s successful dismantling of a no-fault auto insurance fraud ring was discussed by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater in a Thursday, July 9, Tampa CBS affiliate segment.
Three companies have been approved to take up to 80,000 personal residential policies and 1,050 commercial residential policies from Citizen’s Property Insurance Corporation.
Indiana
A jury found Mark Leonard guilty yesterday on four counts of murder, and “for masterminding a massive explosion that registered on an earthquake monitor more than 20 miles away” in Indianapolis in November 2012.
Louisiana
The cost of relocating 350 Assumption Parish residents, after a 31-acre sinkhole forced their evacuation, has already exceeded $75 million, and Texas Brine Co. is suing Occidental and Oxy USA, Inc. to help Texas Brine Co. cover these, and future, expenses.
More than half (40) of New Orleans’ 72 neighborhoods have recovered over 90 percent of the population they had prior to Katrina, according to The Data Center. The city’s population grew 12 percent between 2010-14, the study found.
The president issued a major disaster declaration in the wake of last month’s Red River flooding, making federal funding available to five parish governments: Bossier, Caddo, Grant, Natchitoches, and Red River.
Maryland
Governor Larry Hogan appealed FEMA’s denial of federal aid after April 2015’s Baltimore riots. The governor’s correspondence said the civil unrest resulted in 200-plus instances of looting, 15 major structure fires, 140 vehicle fires, and more than 370 damaged businesses.
Governor Hogan announced the creation of a 10-member commission which will study the impact of Maryland’s regulatory climate on the business community. The commission must file annual a report to the governor no later than December 1, for each of the next three years.
Massachusetts
Some of the state’s largest home insurers are raising their premiums upwards of nine percent following one of the most severe winters in recent memory, The Boston Globe reports.
Michigan
Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) monies should not be used for highway purposes, as called for in House Bill 4560, according to Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Patrick McPharlin.
Mississippi
A federal appeals panel upheld this week a 2013 jury verdict favoring a Biloxi homeowner in a Katrina wind versus water case, and suggested a district court ought to give the plaintiffs access to additional information about State Farm’s post-Katrina claims handling.
Nevada
Heavy rain caused flash flooding on Thursday, July 9, in Douglas, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe counties. The severe weather also prompted the state’s Insurance Division to issue this news release on flood coverage.
Washington
Insurance Commissioner Michael Kreidler issued an advisory saying an insurer’s use of price optimization will be considered unfairly discriminatory, if it results in “premiums, rates, or rating factors unrelated to cost and risk.”
Five large wildfires are currently burning in the state, according to National Public Radio.
Wisconsin
Governor Scott Walker vetoed a budget modification which would have allowed payday lenders to sell insurance products on their premises (see story’s seventh-to-last paragraph).
MEDIA MATTERS
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore and Barry are meeting on Friday, July 17, with Newsday’s Joe Ryan in Manhattan. Ryan has been covering closely the Sandy flood claim dispute story.
Bloomberg’s news division is having an identity crisis, according to this New York Times article.
Diane Brady is no longer working for Bloomberg Business Week.
Dan Haar of the Hartford Courant has been covering insurance since Matthew Sturdevant left the paper late last month.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! will premiere next week on the Syfy Channel.
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