To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’s conference call, here are some of the key media stories, and the messages we’re conveying.
If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, May 19, please email Michael Barry at michaelb@iii.org
I.I.I.’s Hartwig quoted in New York Times story on Deepwater Horizon liability issues:
Since the call, I.I.I. president Bob Hartwig’s Wednesday, May 12, interview with Houston-based New York Times reporter Clifford Krauss was incorporated into this Thursday, May 13, NYT article.
U.S. Senate hearing features testimony from senior executives at BP, Transocean, and Halliburton:
The Associated Press coverage of the Tuesday, May 11, proceedings can be found here.
Severe Oklahoma tornadoes blamed for multiple deaths, extensive property damage:
The Daily Oklahoman archived its coverage of the Monday, May 10, tornadoes here.I.I.I.’s Salvatore appears on Fox Business Network in wake of Nashville flooding:
During a live interview with FBN on Saturday morning, May 8, I.I.I. senior vice president Jeanne Salvatore discussed during what everyone needs to know about flood insurance; the segment was pegged to the severe flooding earlier this month in Nashville, Tennessee.U.S. House subcommittee holds hearing that touches on credit-based insurance scoring issue:
The U.S. House of Representatives’ subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit conducted a Wednesday, May 12, hearing on the Use of Credit Information Beyond Lending: Issues and Reform Proposals. Details on the hearing are here.Wall Street Journal looking into pre-paid funeral service policies:
WSJ reporterAnne Tergesen (email: anne.tergesen@wsj.com) spoke with I.I.I. chief economist Steven Weisbart about pre-paid funeral service policies (what are they?; how do they work?), and whether there is traditionally a life insurance component to the product. Tergesen mentioned two companies in particular, Homesteaders Life and Forethought, when speaking with the I.I.I., although it is unclear if this will develop into a story.TV’s Disaster House, BankRate.com and MSN.com prepping insurance-related pieces:
Bill Crispin (email: bcrispin@highnoontv.com), a producer with a TV program called Disaster House, contacted the I.I.I. for the latest information on U.S. wildfire trends; Leslie McFadden (email: lmcfadden@bankrate.com) is writing about the pros and cons of purchasing car rental insurance; and MSN.com’s Chris Solomon (email: solochris@gmail.com) is exploring the link between getting more than one moving violation ticket, and the cost of auto insurance premiums.
Florida’s insurance commissioner urging Governor Crist to sign property insurance reform bill into law:
Commissioner Kevin McCarty made his bid for the enactment of Senate Bill 2044 during the governor’s Tuesday, May 11, cabinet meeting, according to this story in the Wednesday, May 12, edition of the Lakeland Ledger.Florida was #1 when it came to staged accidents and auto insurance fraud complaints (2007-2009):
In a Tuesday, May 11, article, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported on a new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) showing that Florida led the nation in the number of insurance fraud complaints connected to staged accidents over the past three years. Insurers reported 3,006 suspicious auto insurance claims in the state from 2007 to 2009 and the number more than doubled from 710 in 2007 to 1,446 last year. Florida was way ahead of the larger states that were second and third in the report: New York with 1,680 and 1,619 in California.California’s insurance commissioner candidates fall below radar because of higher-profile contests:
The two Assembly members vying for the Democratic nomination for California insurance commissioner, Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) and Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), have had a hard time attracting attention amid the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate primaries taking place on the same day, Tuesday, June 8, according to this Tuesday, May 11, Associated Press story. The winner of the Democratic primary is likely to face Republican Assemblyman Mike Villenes, a former Assembly minority leader from a Fresno-area district, in November’s general election, with the victor succeeding incumbent Commissioner Steve Poizner.Los Angeles Times offers in-depth look at Proposition 17:
In this Friday, May 7, piece, the LA Times explores who would benefit from passage of the auto insurance referendum: drivers seeking discounts, or insurers looking to charge higher fees, as Proposition 17 detractors argue.
Mobile Press-Register editorial board chides state lawmakers who blocked property insurance reforms in the current legislative session:
The statewide implications of having Mobile and Baldwin counties struggle with coastal property insurance affordability/availability issues are discussed in this Monday, May 10, Press-Register editorial.New York Times’ Bucks Blog picks up on magazine’s bed bugs story:
Home insurance coverage and bed bugs were discussed in this Thursday, May 6, Bucks Blog item, which had been previously covered in a lengthy New York magazine piece.New York Daily News said to offer buyouts to all editorial employees, with exception of the paper’s editor-in-chief:
Daily News employees who accept the deal will receive two weeks of pay for every year of service; the deadline for deciding whether to take the offer is Friday, May 28, the New York Post reported, in its Wednesday, May 12, edition.President Obama visits New York City in wake of Times Square terror threat:
The president’s Thursday, May 13, trip into Manhattan gave the I.I.I. an opportunity to tout its April 2010 white paper on terrorism insurance coverage issues.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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