To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’s conference call, here are some of the key media stories, and the messages we’re conveying.
April 2011 Bloomberg Markets magazine to feature article critical of life insurer claims handling procedures:
The I.I.I. hears the CBS Evening News is scheduled to broadcast on Tuesday, March 8, a segment based on David Evans’ Bloomberg Markets piece. It was posted online on Tuesday, March 1, and focused heavily on a Montana case where a life insurance company initially denied payment on an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) policy. Evans wrote a lengthy story last summer about life insurer use of retained asset accounts.I.I.I. chart accompanied Wall Street Journal story on overseas court decision regarding insurers’ use of gender as a rate-setting criterion:
European women will likely pay more for auto and life insurance effective December 2012 because of a Tuesday, March 1, European Union (EU) court decision, according to this Wednesday, March 2, Wall Street Journal article (subscription required). The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig spoke with WSJ reporter Leslie Scism and, while he was not quoted, an I.I.I. chart on male/female car crash statistics was incorporated into the WSJ’sstory.USA Today readying article pegged to I.I.I. brochure on 12 Ways to Save On Homeowners Insurance Costs:
One matter we did not mention on the call. Erin Kutz (email: erinkutz@gmail.com) has been working with the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore on putting a piece together for USA Today based on this I.I.I. brochure.
FBI arrests 17 Baltimore police officers for allegedly scamming auto insurers as part of scheme involving towing, car repair companies:
The National Insurance Crime Bureau is quoted extensively in this Thursday, February 24, Baltimore Sun article on the case.I.I.I. welcomes member company input on insurer workplace safety initiatives as 100th anniversary of Triangle Fire approaches:
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters (lorettaw@iii.org) is the point of contact, and she will link media to insurance company subject-matter experts on workplace safety in the weeks leading up to Friday, March 25, the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City. HBO’s documentary on the tragedy will premiere on Monday, March 21.
Best Week cover story says 90 percent of New Zealanders have earthquake coverage while only 10 percent of Californians can make the same claim:
Reporter Meg Green’s article (February 28, 2011 edition) opens with an anecdote about a trip Glenn Pomeroy, chief executive of the California Earthquake Authority, made to Christchurch, New Zealand, in late 2010.
I.I.I’s chief economist is guest panelist at Bloomberg Insurance Portfolio Strategies session:
Dr. Steven Weisbart joined two other industry experts for ‘A Conversation About Risk’ on Wednesday afternoon, March 2 at Bloomberg, LP headquarters in mid-town Manhattan. The event was streamed live to Bloomberg terminal users worldwide, and Bloomberg news wire, TV and magazine reporters covered the proceedings.CNBC broadcasts live interview with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett:
Buffett discussed GEICO, a Berkshire Hathaway company, during the conversation. The CNBC program originated from Omaha, Nebraska, early on the morning of Wednesday, March 2.I.I.I. president appears in New York City NBC affiliate’s segment on staged accidents and auto insurance fraud:
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig and the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s Kevin Gallagher appeared on-air in the story, which was broadcast on WNBC-TV during their 11 p.m. newscast on Wednesday, March 2. Both Hartwig and Gallagher focused on how New York’s honest policyholders pay higher auto insurance premiums because of scams such as staged accidents. Suspicious no-fault automobile insurance claims accounted for 88 percent of the 14,625 reports of suspected health care related fraud sent to the New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) in 2010, according to this Tuesday, March 1, NYSID news release.
Woman’s Day readying major story on shopping for term life insurance:
MP Dunleavey (email: mpdunleavey@gmail.com), who also writes for Money magazine, has been talking with the I.I.I.’s Weisbart about what someone in the market for term life insurance needs to know about choosing a beneficiary, how pre-existing conditions impact an applicant’s chances of securing coverage, and whether life insurers insist on having their own physician do the physical exam, or allow a third-party to examine the prospective policyholder.
New York Times doing research on insurer liability in instances when an at-fault contractor is either unlicensed, or secured one fraudulently:
The reporter is William Rashbaum, and he spoke with the I.I.I.’s Worters for a story having to do with Brooklyn, New York-based Schlesinger Electric, and the contracting work they were doing on a water plant. The NYT’s Rashbaum is also exploring the issue of performance bonds, and what role they play when a contractor is either unlicensed or acting fraudulently.
I.I.I.’s Spanish language press officer meeting this week with New York City-based media:
The I.I.I.’s Florida-based Elianne Gonzalez taped interviews earlier this week with media outlets such as Telemundo and Univision on topics like how to save on auto insurance, the I.I.I.’s homebuyer’s checklist, small business insurance, and the importance of flood coverage. While in NYC Gonzalez is also visiting with AOL Latino.
Orlando Sentinel’s Spanish-language edition wants to do story on teenaged drivers, and the danger of text-messaging while driving:
Carolina Salazar of El Sentinel Orlando would like to talk to insurance industry sources this topic for an upcoming article. Elianne Gonzalez (elianneg@iii.org) can plug interested parties into this reporter.
Florida’s chief financial officer (CFO) announces arrest/sentencing of former public adjuster:
Abraham Blumberg of Miami pled guilty to one charge of first-degree organized scheme to defraud, having been charged previously with pocketing more than $360,000 in funds from 82 clients, and using the money to pay personal debts. Blumberg received a sentence of one-year in jail, and 30 years probation, according to CFO Jeff Atwater’s Tuesday, March 1, news release.U.S. House subcommittee to hold National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization hearing on Wednesday, March 9:
The Washington, D.C. hearing notice is here.Texas Department of Insurance assumes ‘administrative oversight’ of TWIA:
Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin had a strongly-worded letter hand-delivered to Jim Oliver, general manager of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association on Monday, February 28. The details of that correspondence are in this Tuesday, March 1, Austin American-Statesman story.
Oklahoma House of Representatives considering bill that would bar an uninsured driver from being able to sue for ‘pain and suffering’ damages after an auto accident:
House Bill 2045 is being sponsored by Oklahoma State Representative George Faught.
Gulfport, Mississippi, jury sides with Pass Christian, Mississippi, condo association, and against insurer, in Katrina case:
The judgment came against Lloyd’s of London and dates back to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, according to this Friday, February 25, Biloxi Sun Herald story. The lead attorney for the condo association said he expects the total award to be around $4 million.Alabama’s governor supports the Property Insurance Clarity Bill:
Sponsored by Alabama state Senator Ben Brooks of Mobile, the measure would requireinsurers to publish the premiums they charge and their claims payouts in each of the state’s zip codes, according to this Thursday, February 24, story in the Mobile Press-Register.Governor Bentley retreating slightly from some of his strong pro-insurance regulation positions, Press-Register reports:
In a front-page story in the Wednesday, March 2, Press-Register, state government reporter George Altman writes that the new governor appears to be backing off some of the statements he made during the campaign. “I don’t believe in setting rates. I think the free market should do that,” Governor Bentley stated.
Arkansas recorded its largest earthquake in 35 years last weekend:
The 4.7 magnitude quake occurredon Sunday, February 27, near Greenbrier, Arkansas, is the latest in a number of earthquakes in the region since last fall. No major damage was reported, according to this Monday, February 28 New York Times article.
Ohio’s mix of melting snow, heavy rain threatened flooding in all 88 of Ohio’s counties earlier this week, the National Weather Service said:
The Associated Press pegged this Tuesday, March 1, story on the severe winter weather in the state to flood-prone Findlay, Ohio situated 45 miles south of Toledo.
Bloomberg hires former New York Times scribe, former State Department spokesman, to pen editorials for Bloomberg View:
Former NYT editorial page writer David Shipley and former spokesman to Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Jamie Rubin, have joined Bloomberg, The New York Times reported, in its Tuesday, March 1, print edition.
New Yorker’s Peter Boyer moves to Newsweek/Daily Beast:
Boyer wrote the New Yorker (January 31, 2011) article on former I.I.I. president Gordon Stewart’s launch of an online newspaper in the lower Hudson Valley section of New York State. Stewart’s outlet is competing with a weekly newspaper owned by Fox News chief Roger Ailes and his wife.
