To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’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 13, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I. PRESIDENT’S ALABAMA TOUR GENERATES SIGNIFICANT MEDIA COVERAGE
Birmingham, Tuscaloosa visits focus on state’s post-tornado recovery efforts: The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig was interviewed by The Birmingham News, Birmingham’s ABC affiliate, and the Tuscaloosa News during a two-day (Wednesday, July 6 and Thursday, July 7) swing through Alabama. Hartwig and the I.I.I.’s Bill Davis, who planned the media tour, also met with Tuscaloosa’s mayor, presenting the city with a generous donation to the Tuscaloosa Storm Recovery Fund.
ARIZONA DUST STORM CAUSES FLIGHT DELAYS, POWER OUTAGES AND BRINGS DOWN LIVE WIRES
Phoenix and Tempe were among the areas hit: This Arizona Republic article, posted online on Wednesday, July 6, gives details.
FEDERAL STUDY SAYS RETIREES MAY HAVE TO DELAY RECEIVING SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND PURCHASE AN ANNUITY
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says a number of factors are making it more likely some retirees will outlive their assets: The GAO’s 70-plus page study, Retirement Income: Ensuring Income throughout Retirement Requires Difficult Choices, was released on Friday, July 1, and prompted this same day Bloomberg article.
NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, INSURANCE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATING STATUS OF UNCLAIMED LIFE POLICES
Wall Street Journal story notes that California and Florida have also looked into this issue: New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman and the New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) are exploring “whether the industry has adequately ensured payments on policies of some deceased customers,” according to this Tuesday, July 5, Wall Street Journal article (subscription required).
9/11 ANNIVERSARY STORIES IN THE WORKS
New York Times, Leader’s Edge prepping articles that look at the event’s insurance repercussions: NYT researcher Jack Styczynski (Phone: 212-556-3639, email: jacks@nytimes.com) is examining the fraudulent life insurance claims made in the wake of September 11, 2001, and said as of 2003 the NYSID put the figure at 75 reports of suspicious 9/11-related life claims, resulting in 17 arrests. His question: have the numbers changed in the past eight years? Former Reuters reporter Ed Leefeldt has been working with the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters on the claims payouts resulting from 9/11 for a Leaders Edge magazine article pegged to the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
WASHINGTON POST ASSESSING WHAT GOES INTO PRICING A TERRORISM RISK POLICY
I.I.I. furnished reporter with its latest terrorism risk white paper, offered guidance on underwriters who specialize in this coverage: The Washington Post’s Mary Pat Flaherty (Phone: 202-334-7322, email: flahertym@washpost.com) said she is assisting a colleague who is writing an article on Homeland Security funding and how the agency’s terrorism-risk mitigation monies are allocated.
MISSOURI RIVER FLOODING HAS REPORTERS ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM POLICY EXCLUSIONS, FEDERAL LIABILITY ISSUES
The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry spoke with two Kansas City-based reporters about the Missouri River flooding and the insurance issues it has sparked: The Associated Press’ William Draper said he’s spoken with FEMA’s general counsel about a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy exclusion involving floods which are deemed to be ‘in progress’ when the policy was first purchased. Gannett had a story this week that illustrated the dispute and how U.S. Senator John Thune (R-North Dakota) and FEMA administrator Craig Fugate have been debating the issue in the media. Kansas City news radio 890 AM’s Bill Grady was filing a story this week on Parkville, Missouri, a tourist town along the Missouri River about 30 miles north of Kansas City. Grady’s focus: will the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pay for damages caused by floods the Corps intentionally caused when re-routing the Missouri River’s overflow to less populated communities?
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ACTUARIES HOSTING NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM BRIEFING IN D.C. ON TUESDAY, JULY 12
The locale is the Hart Senate Office Building, Room SH-902, Washington, D.C, and the event gets underway at noon: The key speakers discussing how to get the NFIP on “actuarial solid ground” will be Stuart Mathewson, chairperson, Flood Insurance Subcommittee, American Academy of Actuaries, and Timothy Wisecarver, vice president, Casualty Practice Council, American Academy of Actuaries. PCI reports House Resolution 1309, the U.S. House’s five-year reauthorization bill for the NFIP, may come to a vote during the week of July 11-15. More information on this gathering can be found online at the AAA’s website
INSURE.COM LOOKING AT FALLEN TREES AND INSURANCE COVERAGE; PANTAGRAPH WANTS TO TALK FIRST-QUARTER 2011 P/C RESULTS
San Diego-based insure.com writer Lionel Sanchez (Phone: 858-531-6467) is working with the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore about insurance coverage for damages caused by fallen trees. Steve Hoffman of the Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois, has an interview request into the I.I.I,’s Hartwig. Hoffman (Phone: 309-820-3254) wants to discuss Hartwig’s first-quarter 2011 P/C financial results analysis.
ALABAMA POLICYMAKERS DEBATE WHETHER PUBLIC ADJUSTERS CAN OPERATE LEGALLY IN THE STATE
Alabama Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling says policyholders are generally free to hire whoever they want to advise them on their claims, but when a third party gets involved in negotiations on behalf of policyholders, the situation gets cloudy. Since the April 2011 tornadoes, various public adjusters have been soliciting business in Alabama, and one firm, Boca Raton-based United States Adjusters, has a website soliciting business in the state. The company’s officials contend they work through a lawyer, and are operating legally, despite protests from the Alabama State Bar, according to this front page story in the Mobile Press-Register on Sunday, July 3.
MINNESOTA’S GOVERNMENTAL SHUT DOWN IMPACTS STATE’S INSURANCE REGULATOR
Minnesota announced “there is not authority for most state agencies, including the Department of Commerce, to continue non-critical services beyond the current biennium, which ended on Thursday, June 30, 2011. As a result, we are advising our stakeholders, including licensees, of a possible disruption in department services.” The Department of Commerce, which regulates insurance in the state, said it would not under the current circumstances be able to accept or process initial or renewal license applications, license reinstatements or reactivations, license printing, pre-license examinations, name or address changes, letters of certification, letters of clearance, and license education transcripts or uploads.
PENNSYLVANIA SHOOTING RAMPAGE MAY HAVE HAD ITS ROOTS IN A 2006 FRAUDULENT INSURANCE CLAIM
Three die after deadly assault by gunman in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: The assailant may have known one of the victims, having allegedly joined with that individual in a 2006 insurance scam involving the house where the murders occurred, according to this Tuesday, July 5, New York Times article on the crime, which occurred on Saturday, July 2.
HAWAII’S INSURANCE COMMISSIONER DIRECTS ALL PROPERTY INSURERS TO SUBMIT NEW RATE FILINGS
The deadline for submissions is October 6, 2011: Commissioner Gordon Ito’s directive is explained in this Thursday, June 30, news release from his department.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
–Ben Berkowitz of Reuters had a tweet that linked to an analysis of what a big hurricane would actually mean for the reinsurance industry. He writes that leading global reinsurers that have already been buffeted by brutal tornadoes in the U.S. and earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, such as Munich Re, Swiss Re, ACE and XL, may be forced to stop returning money to shareholders and might even need to raise new capital.
–A CNN Money blog post about reassessing your valuables and insurance quoted the I.I.I. The post talked about how precious possessions may be due for an insurance upgrade. The I.I.I. is cited discussing what’s covered under a standard homeowners policy and offering information about floaters.
–A blog called Orhuu.com, which features over 1,600 articles about insurance, has recently started using and attributing I.I.I. content related to auto insurance coverage when renting a car. This site covers a wide variety of insurance issues, mostly written for the consumer.
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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