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, August 6, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER SAYS BERTHA HAS LESS THAN 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF TURNING INTO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION THIS WEEK
The odds of the tropical disturbance becoming a depression dropped below 50 percent as Wednesday, July 30, progressed, according to the National Hurricane Center.
WALL STREET JOURNAL PUBLISHES FRONT PAGE STORY EXAMINING WHY PEOPLE HOLD OFF ON PURCHASING LIFE INSURANCE
About 30 percent of U.S. households today have no life insurance, a number which stood at 19 percent approximately 30 years ago, this Friday, July 23, WSJ article reported.
NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE FINDS THRILL RIDES POSE REAL RISKS YET MANY ATTRACTIONS ARE EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL OVERSIGHT
Roller-coaster ride incidents at amusement parks in California and Texas, as well as a water ride in Ohio, are raising questions as to whether these attractions have become more dangerous.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
NBC Nightly News’ Los Angeles-based Andrew Blankstein wants to elaborate on the insurance implications of the U.S.’s aging infrastructure, pegged to a Los Angeles water main break.
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig spoke with the New Jersey Record’s Richard Newman for a weekend story on aviation insurance trends in the wake of the Ukraine and Mali plane crashes.
The I.I.I.’s James Lynch developed our response to an upcoming InsuranceQuotes.com story about a survey assessing the link between home insurance rates and credit-based insurance scores.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore reports that Tobie Stanger of Consumer Reports and Allison Landa of Insurance Business America are seeking industry sources for upcoming stories. Stanger is doing an in-depth piece on home inventories, and wants to know how insurers jog homeowners’ memories about what they owned, and how detailed their inventories need to be. Landa is preparing an article on property/casualty insurance agents who want expand their business by working with medical professionals and/or practices.
CAPITOL HILL
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety received extensive media coverage after finding that a number of lighter vehicles had trouble navigating its small overlap front test.
The Flood Insurance Claims Process in Communities After Sandy: Lessons Learned and Potential Improvements was the subject of a Wednesday, July 30, U.S. Senate hearing.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on implementation of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA).
STATES
Alabama
University of Alabama-Birmingham researchers found that texting-while-driving bans were associated with a drop in traffic fatalities, among all age groups.
California
The Sand Fire, while largely contained, destroyed 19 homes east of Sacramento and prompted evacuations in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Associated Press reports.
Foresta and Old El Portal had evacuations because of a separate wildfire near Yosemite National Park. NBC Nightly News sent a reporter to the scene.
Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 2347, requiring disclosure language for immediate annuities that closely tracks what already exists for deferred annuity products.
Colorado
Two tornadoes were spotted near the Denver airport on Monday afternoon, July 28. The Weather Channel and Denver’s CBS affiliate covered the severe weather.
Florida
Citizens chairman Chris Gardner made business trips this year outside the U.S., even though Governor Rick Scott recommended last year that Citizens prohibit international travel.
Louisiana
BP set aside $260 million in the second quarter of 2014 “for future litigation” expenses related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to this Times-Picayune article.
Massachusetts
An EF-2 tornado touched down in Revere (Suffolk County), damaging dozens of properties, on Monday, July 28, according to this Boston CBS affiliate segment.
The typical driver paid $974 for auto insurance in 2012, and $983 in 2007, partly because the number of auto insurers within this timeframe nearly doubled, The Boston Globe found.
Nebraska
The president declared a major federal disaster exists in 12 counties due to the severe weather that hit the state between June 14-21, 2014, this White House news release states.
New Jersey
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez held a press conference at a Sandy-damaged Toms River home to critique the federal flood insurance program’s claims handling processes.
The Atlantic City Fire Department has been awarded $489,060 from FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighter Grants program to replace Sandy-damaged equipment.
Nevada
The Las Vegas Valley was hit by heavy rains on Sunday, July 27, prompting flash flood warnings and making some roads impassable.
Oklahoma
Five laid-off employees from the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission have filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the agency, according to this Daily Oklahoman story.
Oregon
The state may tap a special insurance policy to pay the government’s higher-than-anticipated 2014 wildfire-fighting expenses, according to Portland’s CBS affiliate.
Pennsylvania
Auto insurers benefit financially when speed limits are raised, according to non-industry sources cited favorably by this Allentown Morning Call columnist.
Tennessee
Ten homes near the Claiborne and Campbell county line were destroyed by what is believed to have been an EF-3 tornado on Sunday, July 27, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
Virginia
Two people were killed, and 36 injured, when an EF-1 tornado swept through Camp Charles (Northampton County) on Thursday, July 24, according to this Richmond CBS affiliate story.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The tornado that touched down just outside Boston on Monday, July 28, is making waves in social media, mostly because local news stations are reporting the damage may not have been severe enough to be considered a federal disaster.
Other news that gained traction on social platforms included the Sand Fire in northern California, which is 90 percent contained, and a Wall Street Journal article stating that, due to the plane crashes this month in Ukraine and Mali, aviation insurance premiums could increase.
MEDIA MATTERS
The number of full-time daily newspaper journalists at the nation’s nearly 1,400 U.S. newspapers decreased 3.2 percent , to 36,700 from 38,000, between 2012 and 2013.
Libel insurance will cover the $500,000 awarded to Jesse Ventura for “damage to his reputation and career caused by defamation” in the book, American Sniper.
Sharkado 2: The Second One, is premiering tonight (Wednesday, July 30). Consumer Reports posted an insurance-related story when Sharknado first aired last year.
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
For an I.I.I. Blog search, click here.
