SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL March 6, 2013

If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, March 13, please email me at michaelb@iii.org

 

The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley led its Wednesday, March 6, broadcast with the latest developments on the heavy snowfall and power outages in states such as Virginia.

The death of 37-year-old Jeffrey Bush, a Seffner, Florida resident who was in his bedroom when the ground beneath him crumbled, has his neighbors concerned about their safety, according to this Tuesday, March 5, Tampa Bay Times article.  The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian and Mike Barry spoke this week with reporters from The Christian Science Monitor, the CBS affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the Hartford Courant, about insurance coverage for sinkholes, which is widely available in Florida and, since 2006, in Tennessee.

The magazine has posted its best and worst cars of 2013, based on their performance in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash tests.  CR’s charts list over 200 cars, categorized as midsize, midsize upscale, compact, subcompact, large/luxury, sporty/convertible, small SUVs, midsize SUVs, midsize/luxury SUVs, large SUVs, compact pickups and full-size pickups.

“Please share your [Sandy] experiences in dealing with your insurance company thus far. Were you satisfied with the insurance adjustor’s final estimate on the extent of the damages and the cost of repair? Has the insurer cut you a check yet? Have you learned anything that could help others in their recovery efforts?,” stated this Friday, March 1, New York Times Bucks Blog item.

As part of its communications strategy, the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore contacted Newman, and made him aware of the I.I.I.’s resources and willingness to field Sandy media inquiries.

 

USA Today’s Wendy Koch spoke with the I.I.I.’s Hartwig and quoted him in her Thursday, March 7, article.  Bloomberg’s Elizabeth Bunn interviewed Hartwig on this as well.

NPR’s Morning Edition is scheduled to air on its Friday, March 8, a story on driverless cars, and interviewed the I.I.I.’s Hartwig about the technology’s insurance repercussions…Consumer Reports Money Advisor spoke with the I.I.I.’s Salvatore for an upcoming story on the need for uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage….Marketwatch’s Elizabeth O’Brien received facts/stats from the I.I.I.’s Barry on the chances certain events (e.g., a fire, a car crash) will occur to supplement a story O’Brien is writing on long-term care insurance…Consumer Reports’ Jim Travers is working with the I.I.I.’s Barry on an article regarding motorcycle insurance, and it’ll mention the actions some states have taken in recent years to rescind mandatory motorcycle helmet requirements…InsuranceQuotes.com conducted a survey and found that only 34 percent of renters have renters insurance.  It will be the focus of an upcoming article at their website.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Maria Mallory White, Julie Patel’s successor, is preparing a story on how the cost of homeowners insurance impacts the real estate market.

This Los Angeles Times’ recent story on retired professional athletes, and the workers’ compensation awards they received long after playing, prompted this Friday, March 1, column.

 

California’s Department of Insurance (DOI) announced on Tuesday, March 5, that DOI would vigorously defend itself against a lawsuit filed by Mercury Casualty.  Consumer Watchdog assailed Mercury’s legal action, charging Mercury with trying to raise homeowners insurance premiums in order to pay its political contributions and tennis tournament sponsorships.

 

Michael Nolan is retiring as president of the Oakland-based California Workers’ Compensation Institute effective May 1, 2013.

The state Senate’s Commerce committee neither discussed nor acted upon The Consumer Protection Act of 2012 (S2460), a ‘bad faith’ bill, at its Monday, March 4, session, even though the legislation was on the committee’s March 4 agenda.

 

New York
The Department of Financial Services is initiating a review of bank and mortgage servicer practices to determine whether homeowners hit hard by Sandy, and allowed to forgo mortgage payments for months, are now being required to make up all past payments in immediate, lump sum repayments, this Wednesday, March 6, release states.

A few National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders, and others seeking federal grants to repair Sandy-caused damage to their properties, are having trouble navigating FEMA’s bureaucracy while some Sandy homeowners claims remain unresolved, the Tuesday, March 5, print edition of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported.

 

Alfa has sent letters to about 10,000 of the 63,000 policyholders Alfa non-renewed after 2011’s tornadoes in an effort to get them back.  Most of the policies cut in 2011 were for multiple-unit dwellings. The 10,000 policies Alfa is trying to get back are single-family homeowners, according to this Thursday, February 28, Mobile Press-Register article.

 

Oklahoma City will be the site of the annual National Tornado Summit, which starts on Sunday, March 10, and concludes on Tuesday, March 12, according to this Sunday, March 3, article in The Oklahoman.

The state’s insurance commissioner would be a gubernatorial appointee, rather than elected official, starting in January 2019, if a bill introduced by state Senator Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) is approved by the full Legislature and then the state’s voters in a 2014 ballot referendum.

 

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Mississippi’s $1 million cap on noneconomic damages, a setback for a plaintiff who was awarded $2.2 million in non-economic damages after a 2006 traffic accident, according to this Saturday, March 2, article in the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger.

State Attorney General Greg Abbott has been asked by state Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo) to develop a formal opinion on whether Texas would be legally obligated to provide monies to Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) claimants if TWIA became insolvent, according to a Monday, March 4, article in The Corpus Christi Caller Times.

 

Starting in 2014, Texas would not charge a sales tax for hurricane preparedness items sold during the final week of May, such as storm shutters and batteries, if the state Legislature enacted HB 2271 and SB 784, legislative proposals the R Street Institute applauded in a Wednesday, March 6, news release.

Homeowners insurance premiums will rise an average of 7 percent statewide effective July 1, 2013, according to this Tuesday, March 5, Raleigh News-Observer story.

 

CNN’s The Lead With Jake Tapper debuts on Monday, March 18, at 4 p.m., ET.

 

Severe Weather Preparedness Week is trending this week, with insurance experts and agents sharing information about how to prepare for disasters.  This story is appearing in combination with the winter storm that is currently covering parts of the country in snow.  I.I.I. editorial content on disaster preparedness is being cited.

 

Road Rage is another trending topic, with an ongoing conversation about what triggers people to become violent and aggressive when behind the wheel.  Users on Twitter are sharing their lists of driver infractions which cause them to get upset.  The top selection is being tailgated. 

 

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

 

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