SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL March 9, 2011

P/C carriers employed 459,100 Americans as of January 2011, down from a July 1999 peak of 515,800, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unlike P/C carriers, life insurance carrier employment (373,500) was, as of the first month of 2011, well above its January 2005 trough of 331,600. I.I.I. president Robert Hartwig’s analysis of these figures, and industry employment trends dating back to 1990, is here.

Days after its largest earthquake in 35 years, Arkansas temporarily halts two ongoing hydraulic fracturing operations:

Arkansas regulators told Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Clarita Operating LLC that they must stop injecting wastewater—at least on a temporary basis—into deep underground storage wells through a technique known as hydraulic fracturing. The order came as the state investigates whether the activity is linked to a series of earthquakes in north-central Arkansas going back to September 2010. A 4.7-magnitude quake in Arkansas on Sunday, February 27, was the most severe to hit the state since 1976. This Wednesday, March 2, Wall Street Journal (subscription required) article offers details.

Wall Street Journal article says many investors fail to recognize the importance of annuities:

Annuities can enhance the security of portfolios consisting primarily of stocks and mutual funds, according to this Tuesday, March 8, Wall Street Journal (subscription required) article. A market decline just before, or right after, investors retire can leave even conservative investors with far less money than they expected for retirement, giving them little time to recover losses, the story notes.

Pegged to a Travelers analysis, vendor/venue problems accounted for 47 percent of 2010 wedding insurance claims.  Wedding attire issues (14 percent) and weather-related problems (13 percent) also made the list. The graphic is attached.

Consumer Reports survey finds 94 percent of respondents have seen drivers using a handheld phone, and almost two-thirds witnessed motorists texting while driving:

The survey results are summarized in the magazine’s April 2011 edition.

CBS News sent an email to its website subscribers on Monday, March 7, saying that on Tuesday, March 8, the Evening News would air a segment based on David Evans’ April 2011 Bloomberg Markets magazine story on life insurer claim denials. The story was not broadcast, and it is unclear when it will appear.

Judy Greenwald of Business Insurance is readying a front-page story for BI’s Monday, March 14, print edition. Her interest in the issue was generated by this Monday, February 28, media advisory.  Greenwald interviewed the I.I.I.’s Mike Barry for her article, with the focus on how insurers have played a leading role in improving workplace safety over the past century.

Candice Choi of the Associated Press spoke with the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters about identity theft insurance coverage, and USA Today’s Christine Dugas interviewed the I.I.I.’s Steve Weisbart about how life insurers have reassessed their underwriting as medical advances have converted what had been terminal illnesses into chronic ones.

A draft bill released by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Illinois), chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Insurance, Housing, and Community Opportunity subcommittee, would renew the NFIP for five years, phase out most rate subsidies, tie coverage limits to the rate of inflation, vary the deductible depending on how subsidized the premium is, and allow the NFIP to sell optional additional living expense and business interruption coverage, according to Insurance Journal.  The NFIP, which is due to expire on September 30, 2011, in the absence of Congressional action, was the subject of a Friday, March 11, congressional hearing.

Reuters headline says Illinois insurance regulator is frontrunner to head the Federal Insurance Office; story mentions two other candidates for same job:

Illinois insurance division director Michael McRaith is under consideration for the FIO position, along with a current and a former U.S. Treasury Department official, Reuters reported on Wednesday, March 3.

Petaluma, California, and Roseville, California, officials are quoted in this NPR piece, which found that ‘crash tax’ revenues often fall far short of initial projections, no matter where they are instituted.

This front page story in the Wednesday, March 9, edition of The San Francisco Chronicle says that the September 9, 2010, explosion has left an indelible mark on the community it struck.

Museum exhibit includes newly discovered color photos of what San Francisco looked like, just after the 1906 earthquake:

The San Francisco Chronicle discussed the find in this Monday, March 7, article.

New York State Senate convenes to debate the proposed merger of the state’s Banking and Insurance Departments:

The Albany Times-Union offered a next-day summary of the Monday, March 7, hearing, which touched on the consolidation of other state agencies, as well. The Cuomo administration wants to house the now-separate Banking and Insurance Departments, along with the state’s Consumer Protection Board, within a newly formed state Department of Financial Regulation.

The Travis County district attorney said that the Texas Department of Insurance invited them to look into TWIA’s management practices, this Wednesday, March 9, National Underwriter story reports.

Miami Herald’s Tallahassee-based reporter finds state lawmakers want Citizens to return to its role as property insurer of last resort:

Raising Citizens’ premium rates and rescinding property insurance laws enacted during the Crist administration are items on the agenda of some state legislators, Miami Herald reporter Janet Zink found in a Sunday, March 6, story.

Palm Beach Post editorial page editor argues Florida’s property insurance market is volatile because of “deregulation, not regulation”:

Randy Schultz’s editorial was published in the Palm Beach Post on Sunday, March 6, and is pegged to the current debate about sinkhole coverage and Senate Bill 408. It was posted online on Friday evening, March 4.

Louisiana’s insurance commissioner, citing his decision to change home insurers, says residents should shop around:

Commissioner James Donelon is stating publicly that the state’s property insurance market has stabilized, allowing homeowners greater choices and potentially lower premium rates, according to this Sunday, March 6, New Orleans Times-Picayune article.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch personal finance columnist says earthquake coverage is probably worth having in Missouri:

The cost of earthquake coverage has risen substantially in recent years but it is still fairly inexpensive, according to columnist Jim Gallagher, who filed this Sunday, March 6, piece. Earthquake coverage for homeowners averages $153 a year in St. Louis County, $161 in St. Louis, $87 in Jefferson County and $99 in St. Charles County. The U.S. Geological Service says the chance of an 1812-style New Madrid quake in Missouri over the next 50 years is about 7 to 10 percent, Gallagher notes, while the chance of a lesser quake, which might crack walls and topple chimneys in the state, is 25 to 40 percent. 

8 percent of Washington state’s workers compensation claims account for 85 percent of the benefits paid out, state agency reports:

Citing this Washington state Department of Labor and Industries figure, the Spokane Spokesman-Review’s editorial board wrote the following on Friday, March 4, “Dealing with that component [permanent disabilities] is a central objective of Governor [Christine] Gregoire’s proposal, which relies on a statewide network of providers who are up to date on proven methods of occupational therapy. Attacking the medical aspect makes sense. A couple of decades ago, replacement income was the most expensive part of the program, but the medical care component has sped into the lead in recent years.”

The Longevity Project (Hudson Street Press) was reviewed in the Wednesday, March 9, edition of The Wall Street Journal.  The just-published book was co-written by two psychologists.