I.I.I. offers its insights at the 2010 National Hurricane Conference:
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore and Lynne McChristian were among the 1,500-plus participants in the annual conference, held this year at the Orlando Hilton, Orlando, Florida (March 29-April 2, 2010). Salvatore’s Thursday, April 1, PowerPoint presentation is here and a news release was issued on the panel discussion “Hurricanes as Teachers: Lessons Learned to Minimize Future Losses”, which Salvatore moderated, too. McChristian hosted a Wednesday, March 31, workshop on “How the Insurance Claims Process Works in a Natural Disaster.” McChristian was also the chair of the Hurricane Conference’s insurance committee and put together two other panels: one a discussion of the Homeowners Defense Act and the second dealing with the financial mechanisms employed to pay for disaster risk.U.S. Supreme Court ruling could make it easier to file class-action suits against insurers in federal court:
In a 5-4 vote announced on Wednesday, March 31, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a class-action lawsuit in New York, alleging that Allstate Insurance Co. often did not pay interest on insurance benefits that were paid after their due date. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said the case could be heard in federal court despite New York’s procedural laws that would not have allowed a class action. The case, Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates v. Allstate Insurance Co., involves a lead plaintiff who held a New York no-fault auto insurance policy from Allstate and received medical treatment in Maryland for injuries suffered in a car accident. The facility providing treatment (Shady Grove) filed a lawsuit under New York law, alleging that Allstate routinely paid claims late and failed to pay the interest owed. The same day online Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) notes the unusual division of opinions in this case, with two conservatives and two liberals siding with Scalia and two conservatives and two liberals dissenting. Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld’s blog offered this analysis of the decision while the I.I.I.’s Claire Wilkinson gave her take on the matter at Terms + Conditions.
Louisiana judge says homeowners policy exclusions do not apply in case of Chinese drywall-caused damages:
Chief Judge Lloyd Medley of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court ruled that the three policy exclusions AIG-owned Audubon Insurance Company cited when denying a policyholder’s residential drywall damage claim do not apply. This Friday, March 26, Times-Picayune story offered additional details on the case.NBC Nightly News examines defective Chinese drywall problems in Virginia:
In a report originating from Newport News, Virginia, correspondent Mark Potter explored the plight of families who had to move out of their homes because the structures were later deemed to have been built with defective Chinese drywall. The piece aired on Monday, March 29, and made no mention of insurance coverage, with U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) instead calling for the Chinese government to compensate affected U.S. parties for their economic losses, if the liable Chinese drywall manufacturers refused to do so.Pacific Northwest is vulnerable to an earthquake like the one which struck Chile, New York Times op-ed contributor writes:
“Just off Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia sits the 600-mile-long Cascadia fault,” wrote structural engineer Peter Yanev, in an op-ed published in the Sunday, March 28, hard copy edition of The New York Times. “Like the Nazca tectonic plate that caused the quake and tsunami in Chile, Cascadia can produce temblors with magnitudes of 9 or greater, more powerful than anything we’ve experienced or expect from California’s famous San Andreas Fault.”
U.S. News & World Report study finds that the District of Columbia is the best locale and South Dakota the worst, for teen drivers:
In its April 2010 edition, U.S. News & World Report released its first-ever rankings of the best states for teen drivers, based on driving conditions and safety laws.
New York Times blogger writes about NAIC’s newly adopted Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey:
In contrast to previous National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Survey iterations, this two-page document says insurer participation in the Survey is optional, depending on the state’s discretion. In addition, insurers’ survey responses will remain confidential, with participating states coordinating with the NAIC “to develop a public report giving information in the aggregate regarding insurer responses.” The New York Times posted on Tuesday, March 30, a ClimateWire item on the NAIC’s decision.
Dallas Morning News chronicles dispute between State Farm and Texas Department of Insurance:
“An unprecedented move by the Texas Department of Insurance to publicize recent rate hikes by State Farm Insurance sparked a legal challenge from the company Tuesday [March 30, 2010] over what it said was confidential information,” wrote Terrence Stutz, in this Wednesday, March 31, DMN story.
I.I.I. to co-host Best Day video series to mark Hurricane Katrina’s 5th anniversary:
South Carolina, Florida media stories focus on implications of National Flood Insurance Program’s expiration:
The Charleston (SC) Post-Courier and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel explored in stories this week how Congress’ inability to extend the NFIP beyond Sunday, March 28, left the nation’s flood insurance program in limbo for two weeks, adversely impacting the real estate market. The I.I.I. Terms + Conditions blog talked on Monday, March 29, about the “Flood Insurance Hiatus,” too.Insurers challenge California insurance commissioner’s authority to restrict investments:
Five insurance trade groups—the American Council of Life Insurers, the AmericanInsurance Association, theAssociation of California Insurance Companies, the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies and the Personal Insurance Federation of California—released a joint statement on Friday, March 26, challenging the legality of Commissioner Steven Poizner’s Iran Initiative. The California Department of Insurance issued this news release on Friday, March 26, declaring that “no investment held by an insurer in any company on the list will be recognized on that insurer’s financial statements in California,” effective Wednesday, March 31. The 50 listed companies are alleged to have ties to Iran’s energy, nuclear and defense sectors, the commissioner stated, in this Wednesday, February 10, statement.Columbus (OH) Dispatch editorial board favors doubling number of city’s red-light cameras:
Pointing to a substantial drop in number of accidents at Columbus intersections where red-light cameras have been installed since 2006, the Columbus Dispatch’s editorial board endorsed on Friday, March 26, a city Department of Public Safety recommendation to increase to 40 from 20 the number of red-light cameras in Columbus. The Dispatch notes that Ohio voters in Heath and Chillicothe voted in November 2009 to have red-light and speed cameras in their respective cities removed.
Virginia Beach and Miami are most at risk for residential, storm-surge damage if a Category 5 hurricane hits them, study finds:
The First American Corporation’s study of 13 metropolitan areas along the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico came to that conclusion, according to this Sunday, March 28, Virginian-Pilot story. First American’s analysis estimated that a Category 5 hurricane could cause $39 billion in residential damage and affect more than a quarter of a million properties in Virginia Beach. The Virginian-Pilot reporter noted that such an intense storm is highly unlikely because the waters off the Virginia coastline are not considered warm enough for a Category 5 hurricane to develop.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports Florida’s regulator considered suspending three insurers’ licenses in March 2010:
Homeowners Choice, Hillcrest Insurance and Southern Oak have been cited and/or fined by Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation and had their licenses threatened with suspension for various regulatory violations in the past two weeks, according to this Monday, March 29, Herald-Tribune article. Homeowners Choice improperly reported a transaction between two entities it owns, Clearwater, FL-based Homeowners Choice Property and Casualty 21 and Bermuda-based Claddaugh; Hillcrest Insurance was ordered to recover $600,000 paid to a company director for stock that became worthless, and Southern Oak was accused of using internal management contracts to collect $10 million in excess profits from its insurance operation.
Austin-American Statesman publishes front-page story on Texas official’s bid to ban discretionary clauses:
Found most often in long-term disability insurance policies, these clauses give insurers overly broad powers to deny claims, according to Deeia Beck, executive director of the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel. Beck, an appointee of Governor Rick Perry, has asked Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin to ban discretionary clauses, which are found in some health insurance plans, too, the article notes. The Tuesday, March 30, story appears to be based in part on Ms. Beck’s Friday, March 26, PowerPoint presentation to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ consumer liaison committee in Denver, Colorado.
Houston-based forecasting firm believes western Florida is most vulnerable to 2010 tropical storm/hurricane:
The Weather Research Center (WRC) issued this Thursday, March 25, news release, saying the WRC foresees a relatively quiet U.S. hurricane season this year (8 named storms, 3 making landfall). Western Florida has a 90 percent chance of being the site of at least one of the three land-falling storms, the WRC predicts. The Houston Business Journal filed a Friday, March 26, article on the WRC’s release.Beaumont (TX) Enterprise editorial board says gubernatorial candidates need to talk about homeowners insurance rates:
Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Republican incumbent, and his Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White, should outline what consumer protections they believe Texas homeowners ought to have when interacting with their property insurer, according to this Sunday, March 28, Enterprise editorial. Beaman Floyd, director of the Austin-based Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions, offered this response in a Friday, April 2, letter to the editor.
