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, March 23, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
PBS’S FRONTLINE EXPLORING AT LEAST ONE INSURER’S DISPUTED SANDY FLOOD CLAIM
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore (jeannes@iii.org) would like to hear from other I.I.I. member companies who’ve been contacted recently by PBS’s Frontline program for its upcoming story on FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The segment’s tentative air date is May 2016.
I.I.I.’s SALVATORE DISCUSSES FLOOD INSURANCE ON THE WEATHER CHANNEL
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore conducted two, live Weather Channel interviews on Saturday morning, March 12. Both were about flood insurance in the wake of the heavy rainfall over the past week in Louisiana and Mississippi.
I.I.I.’S SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST (SXSW) PANEL FOCUSES ON TRANSPORTATION SAFETY AND RISK
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig and Andrea Basora led a Sunday, March 13, panel discussion in Austin, Texas, on Hacking Your Ride: Transportation Safety and Risk. The Guardian covered the proceedings.
I.I.I. RELEASES WHITE PAPER ON CUBA’S INSURANCE MARKETS BEFORE THE PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO HAVANA
The I.I.I. issued a white paper which touches in part on how Cuba’s government currently provides insurance coverage to its 11 million-plus citizens. The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian and Hartwig co-authored the paper. Bloomberg and the Palm Beach Post posted stories on its findings.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore briefed the AARP Bulletin’s Caroline Mayer about the insurance issues a person should consider before buying a second home.
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig was interviewed by The Parallax website’s Kristin Burnham about the issues he raised in the I.I.I.’s October 2015 cyber risk white paper.
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters spoke with The New York Times (NYT) about homeowner’s and umbrella liability policies prior to the NYT’s publication of a story on Bill Cosby’s legal defense expenditures.
The I.I.I.’s Worters also taped an interview about coverage for flooded vehicles with Lindsey Slater of Springfield, Missouri’s ABC affiliate (KSPR) and discussed summer home burglary trends with Consumer Reports’ Kimberly Janeway.
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz provided facts/statistics on uninsured motorists to FoxNews.com’s Hollie McKay for a story she’s writing on U.S. highway fatality trends.
CAPITOL HILL
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) inability to charge full-risk rates for properties subsidized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is derailing efforts to put the NFIP on a better financial footing, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO).
U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) has introduced legislation (S.2684) to allow energy companies to use drones to respond either to a natural disaster or a severe weather event.
STATES
Arizona
The Scottsdale-based Arizona Insurance Council has been re-named the Arizona Insurance Institute.
California
The I.I.I. launched InsuringCalifornia.org, a new website.
El Nino generated above-average rainfall this winter in the northern part of the state even as southern California’s precipitation levels fell.
The San Jacinto fault is capable of rupturing along with the San Andreas fault during a single earthquake, according to a professor at California State University, Northridge.
The Tuesday, March 22-Wednesday, March 23 Insurance Disrupted Conference, Customer Engagement at the Digital Edge, is being held at the Hilton Conference Center in Forest City (Sierra County). To follow the conversation on social, use the hashtag #InsDisrupt.
Florida
Should Governor Rick Scott sign into law Senate Bill 966, life insurers who have not already entered into settlement agreements would have to cross-check their unclaimed life insurance policies dating back to 1992 against the Society Security Administration’s Death Master File (subscription required).
Governor Scott also will be considering House Bill 931, a measure aimed at giving Citizens’ Property Insurance Corporation policyholders more information about the private insurers who want them to leave Citizens.
Fifty-five (55) people have applied to become the state’s next Insurance Commissioner. Incumbent Commissioner Kevin McCarty is stepping down in May 2016.
The state legislative session concluded on Friday, March 11, with no action taken on either insurance for transportation network companies (TNCs) or assignment of benefits legislation.
Georgia
The Associated Press reported on an aviation insurance company which is requiring its employees to carry firearms while at the office.
Louisiana
At least four deaths have been attributed to the state’s severe flooding, and the National Guard had to rescue thousands.
The president approved a major disaster declaration in seven parishes for the severe storms and flooding which hit the state beginning on Tuesday, March 8, and continuing since then.
Grand Isle's hurricane protection levee was damaged during late last week’s intense weather.
Massachusetts
First time opioid prescriptions will be limited to a seven-day supply now that Governor Charlie Baker has signed into law H 4046.
Mississippi
Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency due to the statewide flooding events. The governor also deployed the National Guard to the Gulf Coast.
New York
The Albany Times Union reported on the front-page of its print edition today (March 16) that efforts to reform the state’s workers’ compensation (w/c) system had stalled (subscription required).
New York City’s NBC affiliate broadcast a segment yesterday (March 15) which said doctors who claim they will accept w/c insurance to treat injured workers often will not do so, even though their names are listed at the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board’s website.
A Merrick (Nassau County) auto body repair shop owner is expected to plead guilty later this month to felony insurance fraud charges and to pay restitution to auto insurers who overpaid for the shop’s services.
North Carolina
Mike Causey won the Republican nomination for insurance commissioner and will face incumbent Commissioner Wayne Goodwin in November.
Oklahoma
Governor Mary Fallin is appealing FEMA’s denial of federal assistance for residents and businesses in nine counties hit by a December 2015 storm.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
ArcGIS, an interactive mapping app, is tracking this month’s historic flooding, which is impacting communities from eastern Texas to western Alabama.
For up-to-date information on Louisiana’s floods, visit the official Facebook page of NWS Lake Charles Louisiana as well as their Twitter account at @NWSLakeCharles.
To promote the I.I.I.’s just-released Cuba white paper on social, use the hashtag #IIICubaInsurance.
The I.I.I.’s Sunday, March 13, SXSW panel, Hacking Your Ride, received a Twitter mention and was covered in an article by The Guardian’s Jemima Kiss. The Guardian story has received nearly 500 social shares.
The I.I.I.’s Ruiz is on Twitter @InsuringCAL.
MEDIA MATTERS
Fox Business Network (FBN) will broadcast Wall Street Week on Friday evenings at 8 p.m., ET.
CBS wants to sell or spin off its radio division, which owns 117 stations in 26 cities.
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.
