SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL March 20, 2013

If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, March 27, please email me at michaelb@iii.org

 

The I.I.I. issued a media advisory to promote the insurance panels the I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian is moderating at the annual conference. It is being held in New Orleans.

The June 2012 wildfires near Colorado Springs were among the worst in the state’s history but the city’s mitigation efforts as part of the Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) averted an even greater loss of life and property, according to a Tuesday, March 19, report released by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

The percentage of Americans who believe it is acceptable to increase an insurance claim by a small amount to make up for the deductible they pay dropped to 24 percent in 2012 from 33 percent a decade ago, an Insurance Research Council study released this week found.

 

The Insure.com survey was released on Thursday, March 14, and generated stories in outlets such as USA Today.

Fitch assessed the full-year GAAP 2012 financial results for 48 publicly traded companies, all of them either insurers or reinsurers, this Friday, March 15, news release stated.

FNC on-air reporter Rick Leventhal is interviewing sources in New Jersey for an upcoming story on dissatisfied Sandy claimants….the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal’s Anya Martin for a future Mansion section column on the insurance needs of high-end homeowners who rent out their properties….the I.I.I.’s Mike Barry will likely be quoted in a future Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition article Kelli Grant is writing on how to save money on auto insurance, the news peg being the aforementioned Insure.com study….the I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig spoke with The Kiplinger Letter’s Jim Paterson about the ways property insurers have adapted to the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters in the U.S…..the I.I.I.’s Hartwig also taped an interview this week with Rikki Meece of KSL, a Salt Lake City, Utah news radio station, on the things a gun owner needs to keep in mind when shopping for homeowners insurance….the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Jennifer Bjorhus has sent a survey to some of Minnesota’s largest homeowners insurers, asking them how they calculate a home’s replacement cost value. The Star-Tribune explored this topic in a February 2013 article she wrote.

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) postponed on Wednesday, March 20, a scheduled subcommittee vote on the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act, legislation aimed at limiting fraudulent asbestos injury claims, according to this same-day story in The Hill.

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that two EF-2 tornadoes touched down in DeKalb County on Monday afternoon, March 18. The ensuing damage was most extensive in northeast Alabama. Eleven mobile homes were destroyed in the town of Kilpatrick and, in Albertville, several homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. By the end of the week, the NWS was saying four tornadoes had touched down in northern Alabama on Monday.

Radio station KPBS broadcast on Monday, March 18, a story about how University of California at San Diego research has provided insights into earthquake-caused fires.

 

Starting on Saturday, June 15, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) is increasing its licensing fees 10 percent for insurance producers, insurance adjusters, and insurers, according to this Friday, March 15, CDI Bulletin.

 

Amendments to the state’s proposed gun liability law (AB 231) may rescind the requirement that a California gun owner purchase a separate liability policy.

 

A wildfire west of Fort Collins has burned 1,300-plus acres. There were two minor injuries and no property damage has been reported, according to this Monday, March 18, Denver Post article.

Florida homeowners have been invited to share their homeowner claims-handling experiences with Robin Smith Westcott, Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate, at eight Insurance Consumer Forums. The first one was held on Thursday, March 21, in Orlando. Ms. Westcott’s office has released the dates, times and locations of the other sessions.

 

The I.I.I.’s McChristian developed an article for the I.I.I.’s website on Sinkholes and Insurance, and the I.I.I.’s Claire Wilkinson wrote about the same issue at Terms + Conditions.

 

“It can be surprisingly difficult to establish that property damage was caused by a sinkhole and not, say, by an incompetent contractor—and recent changes in Florida’s statutes have made it harder,” writes David Owen, in the March 18, 2013 edition of The New Yorker magazine (subscription only).  Owen’s story is called Notes from Underground: Florida’s Sinkhole Peril.

 

Verisk announced this week its launch of a new underwriting product for insurers called LOCATION Sinkhole Service. It can be used for both residential and commercial properties.

Severe thunderstorms temporarily left thousands of Georgians without power on Monday, March 18. At least one tornado was confirmed, and one man was killed by a falling tree in Polk County after a line of powerful thunderstorms crossed the state, according to this Tuesday, March 19, Associated Press article. 

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and the Jindal administration are opposed to a $100 million bond sale that has already been authorized by the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s board of directors.

The Baton Rouge Advocate is being sold to New Orleans businessman John Georges. The Advocate has a daily circulation of about 98,000 papers.

The Detroit News editorial board wrote on Sunday, March 17, that Michigan’s no-fault system must be reformed before Detroit’s motorists will see premium rate reductions.

Governor Snyder’s January 2013 executive order, creating a Department of Insurance and Financial Services, took effect on Monday, March 18. 

 

Insurance agents and auto body repair shops were inundated with customers after a major hail storm damaged homes and cars in central Mississippi on Monday, March 18, according to this story from ABC’s Jackson affiliate.

 

The number of New Jersey residential structures situated within a floodplain grew to nearly 268,000 from just over 234,000 after FEMA’s most recent remapping process, a 15 percent increase, according to this Thursday, March 14 Associated Press article.

 

The Department of Financial Services issued a news release on Tuesday, March 19, saying the “10 worst banks” were holding back $40.7 million in Sandy insurance proceeds.

St. John’s University wants to sell the 10-story building it owns in lower Manhattan, site of the institution’s School of Risk Management, Crain’s reported, on Friday, March 15.

 

Speeding contributed to about 30 percent of New York City’s 274 traffic deaths in 2012, the city’s Department of Transportation announced, in a Monday, March 18 news release.

 

A wildfire destroyed 26 residential buildings in Myrtle Beach on Sunday, March 17, according to this next-day story in The Charlotte Observer. The blaze displaced hundreds of residents.

Former Governor Mark Sanford is favored to win the Tuesday, May 7, special election for the U.S. House seat vacated when the governor appointed Rep. Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate. Sanford, a Republican, will face Democratic nominee Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, sister of Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert.

 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Flood Safety Awareness Week (March 18-22) is the number one topic this week, with insurance companies and consumer groups sharing both I.I.I. and NOAA content over Twitter. The focus is on educating consumers about their homeowners policy, and how they can protect their properties from flood damage.  Ever since Hurricane Sandy, the topic of homeowners insurance policy literacy has been trending in social media.

 

Another topic that is getting attention this week is sinkholes, and the new I.I.I. article on the subject is being shared widely by insurance agents on Twitter. The I.I.I. information has been helpful in helping agents answer questions from policyholders who want to know about their sinkhole risk.   

 

The I.I.I. video, Spring Cleaning for the Exterior of Your Home, is getting an increased number of views on YouTube, and shares on Twitter, as consumer groups and insurance agents encourage homeowners to protect their property at the start of the spring season. 

 

The economic pressures impacting U.S. television stations are comparable to the ones being felt at newspapers, the Pew Research Center’s 2013 State of the News Media report found.

 

CNN announced on Monday, March 18, that it has hired three new correspondents. Pamela Brown, who had been with Washington, D.C.’s ABC affiliate, is moving to New York to become a national correspondent, contributing primarily to CNN’s new morning program. George Howell and Alina Machado, most recently reporters at Atlanta’s ABC affiliate, will be CNN reporters based out of Chicago and Atlanta, respectively.

 

Roger Ailes: Off Camera, a new biography about the life of the Fox News Channel’s chief, was published on Tuesday, March 19.  Zev Chafets is the book’s author. 

 

Mrs. Roger Ailes and former I.I.I. president Gordon Stewart were each honored by the Philipstown, NY, Chamber of Commerce, Politico.com reports.

 

David Dankwa has joined WorkCompCentral.  He was most recently a reporter with SNL Financial.

 

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