To recap the issues raised during last 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, March 8th, please email Lynne McChristian at lynnem@iii.org
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AMONG U.S. HOMEOWNERS WHO FILED A CLAIM HAS REACHED AN ALL-TIME HIGH, J.D. POWER FINDS
The Customer Satisfaction Index rose to a score of 859, calculated on a 1,000-point scale. The largest single driver of the improvement was the settlement factor, “which encompasses the fairness of the settlement amount.”
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS AIRS SEGMENT ON DISTRACTED DRIVING AND THE RISING COSTS OF AUTO INSURANCE
The story, which included an excerpt from a taped interview with former I.I.I. president Bob Hartwig, was broadcasted on Friday, February 24.
TWO PEOPLE DIE AFTER SEVERE STORMS RIP THROUGH SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND EASTERN MISSOURI
One of the fatalities reported (February 28) occurred near Ottawa, Illinois, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, and the other in Perryville, Missouri, nearly 80 miles south of St. Louis, Reuters reported.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF INSURANCE LEGISLATORS (NCOIL) TO CONSIDER FEDERAL INSURANCE OFFICE (FIO) RESOLUTION
An NCOIL panel may ask FIO either to recalculate or abandon its private-passenger auto insurance affordability thresholds at its March 3-5 Spring Meeting in New Orleans, AM Best reports (subscription required).
STORIES IN THE WORKS
InsuranceQuotes.com’s Nick DiUlio is readying a story on the cost of private-passenger auto insurance in Texas. It is based on a Quadrant Information Services study the website commissioned.
Financial Advisor magazine’s Juliette Farley is writing an article on how insurers feel about the Trump administration’s climate change policies.
Business Insurance’s Kristen Beckman (Phone: 312-767-3442, email: kbeckman@businessinsurance.com) is a new BI reporter who would like to be added to industry news release distribution lists. She also wants to speak with subject matter experts on workers’ compensation insurer permanent disability payments for a story pegged to an Arkansas bill on the topic.
S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Declan Harty (email: declan.harty@spglobal.com) wants to know if northern California’s severe flooding will have any impact on the state’s property insurance market.
Risk & Insurance’s Alex Wright has an article in the works on property insurance coverage for mudslides and landslides.
CAPITOL HILL
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is convening in executive session on Thursday, March 2, the first FSOC meeting over which U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will preside.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee released a staff report earlier this week which maintains FSOC has acted inconsistently when exercising its power to designate non-bank companies as “too big to fail.”
Andrew Olmem was appointed special assistant to President Trump for Financial Policy. He held senior positions at the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee between 2005-2013.
STATES
Alabama
At least 11 people were injured after a van plowed into a marching band during a Mardi Gras parade in Gulf Shores.
California
Santa Clara County residents impacted by the recent flooding can visit the state’s Local Assistance Center at San Jose’s Shirakawa Center through Saturday, March 4.
Governor Jerry Brown announced a four-point plan to bolster dam safety and flood protection. It calls in part for the state Legislature to approve a $387 million Proposition 1 appropriation.
After a private plane crashed into a residential section of Riverside on Monday, February 27, three people died, and two were injured.
A 24-year-old woman was charged with committing multiple acts of arson at the Fullerton Hills Apartments complex, the Orange County District Attorney’s office announced.
A Los Angeles Times columnist maintains the state is having difficulty disbursing $365 million in unclaimed life insurance policy proceeds.
Florida
Orlando’s ABC affiliate examined how a contractor abused the state’s assignment of benefits (AOB) system to take advantage of a home insurance policyholder on a water damage claim.
State Senators Dorothy Hukill and Kathleen Passidomo have introduced legislation (Senate Bill 1038) to clarify the intent of the AOB policy provision and limit the benefits provided to those other than the policy’s named insured.
House Bill 469’s enactment would allow plaintiffs to recover prejudgment interest on noneconomic claims (e.g., pain and suffering) going back to the date of their loss, the Saint Pete’s blog reports.
Georgia
The I.I.I.’s Bill Davis is attending FEMA Region IV’s inaugural Southeast Public-Private Partner Summit in Atlanta. It will be held on Tuesday, March 7, and Wednesday, March 8.
Nearly $3 million in FEMA individual assistance has been disbursed for home repairs, temporary housing, and other disaster-related needs related to the late January 2017 tornadoes.
Legislation that would allow driverless vehicles on public roads (House Bill 248) was rewritten after critics said an initial draft unfairly favored General Motors, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Kansas
A presidential disaster declaration will make federal funding available to governmental agencies in 18 counties whose infrastructure was damaged by the severe winter storm of January 13-16, 2017.
Louisiana
An allegedly intoxicated 25-year-man was arrested after he crashed a pick-up truck into a New Orleans parade crowd last weekend, injuring 28 people.
Massachusetts
An EF-1 tornado touched down on Saturday, February 25, with its biggest impact felt in Conway (Franklin County) and Goshen (Hampshire County).
Michigan
Tokyo-based Takata Corporation pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to pay a total of $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from the company’s conduct in relation to sales of defective airbags.
New York
Newsday’s front page (print edition) on Sunday, February 26, focused on the rising cost of flood insurance for Long Island homeowners (subscription required).
Two passengers died when a private plane crashed last weekend at Long Island’s Grabeski Airport in Westhampton Beach (Suffolk County).
Ohio
Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, the state’s insurance director, will seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2018, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Oklahoma
The number of 2.7-magnitude quakes, or greater, has dropped to 1.4 per day in 2017. That figure stood at 3.6 per day in 2016 and almost 5 quakes daily in 2015, the Oklahoma Geological Survey found.
Pennsylvania
Straight-line winds caused extensive property damage in the eastern part of the state on Saturday, February 25, with some saying tornadoes touched down, Philadelphia’s NBC affiliate reports.
Texas
The state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation is hosting an all-day safety workshop for employers and employees on Tuesday, March 7, at San Antonio’s Education Service Center.
Utah
Governor Gary Herbert is expected to sign Senate Bill 92 into law, allowing Workers Compensation Fund Insurance, the largest writer of w/c coverage statewide, to become a private mutual insurance company in 2018.
Washington
Kenton Brine, president of the NW Insurance Council, discussed distracted driving and the rising costs of auto insurance with Seattle’s NBC affiliate.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Severe weather hits multiple states in Midwest
The Midwest storms received heavy attention in social media after nearly two dozen deadly tornadoes were reported across four states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. For frequent weather and damage updates on social, follow @NWSIWX and @NWSLittleRock.
NBC’s Nightly News broadcasts story on distracted driving and rising auto costs
The segment on distracted driving and auto insurance rates on NBC Nightly News aired on Friday, February 24. The clip was posted on the I.I.I.’s Twitter page. Re-share with your audiences using the hashtag #JustDrive to create awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.
2017 Identity Fraud Study released
Javelin found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016. The I.I.I. is highlighting the issue on its website’s homepage this week. Javelin’s Twitter handle is @JavelinStrategy.
Takata pleads guilty in defective airbag case
The Takata story is getting strong engagement on social this week. The Japanese auto supplier’s guilty plea (see Michigan, in the STATES section) came after their defective airbags were linked to a reported 17 deaths worldwide. The I.I.I. shared a Bloomberg story on the matter on its Twitter and Facebook pages.
MEDIA MATTERS
Fox Business Network (FBN) averaged 218,000 viewers on weekdays between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, in February 2017. CNBC, meanwhile, averaged 182,000 viewers last month during those same days and hours.
NBC’s Nightly News topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.6 million viewers during the week of February 20-24. ABC’s World News Tonight (8.4 million) and CBS’s Evening News (7 million) trailed NBC.
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.
