To recap the issues raised during this week’s conference call, here are the key media stories we discussed, and the messages we’re conveying.
If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, May 25, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I. CONDUCTS HELPLINE ON INSURANCE COVERAGE ISSUES FOR UNIVISION 45 VIEWERS IN HOUSTON
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore and Elianne González are in Houston, Texas, today (May 18) for the Helpline event, which runs from 5 to 7 p.m., CT.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES PUBLISHES I.I.I. PRESIDENT’S OP-ED ON THE CUBAN INSURANCE MARKET
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig offered his thoughts on the issue in the wake of President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba earlier this year.
DOG BITE PREVENTION WEEK GENERATES WIDESPREAD MEDIA COVERAGE
Houston’s ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates, as well as the Houston Chronicle, covered the Wednesday, May 11, press conference about dog bite prevention, which was attended by the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters. She Snapchatted and live tweeted from the event, using the hashtag #preventdogbites. In addition, the I.I.I.’s press release, which was distributed in both English and Spanish, was picked up by more than 700 media outlets including Bloomberg News, the Baton Rouge Advocate, Boston Globe, CBS MoneyWatch and San Francisco Chronicle. Information about Dog Bite Prevention Week was also posted on the I.I.I.’s Facebook page and Pinterest board, and covered on the InsuringCalifornia, InsuringFlorida and Terms + Conditions blogs.
2015’s YEAR-END PROPERTY/CASUALTY (P/C) INSURANCE INDUSTRY FINANCIAL RESULTS RELEASED
The U.S.’s P/C insurers cumulatively turned in another year of good performance in 2015 in terms of underwriting performance and overall return on average surplus (profitability).
PBS FRONTLINE STORY ON AFTERMATH OF SANDY AND THE FUTURE OF THE U.S. FLOOD INSURANCE MARKET TO PREMIERE ON TUESDAY, MAY 24
The Business of Disaster is expected to discuss in part the profits earned by insurers who participate in FEMA’s Write Your Own (WYO) program.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The Chicago Tribune’s Bob Brown is looking at the insurance coverages people should consider when they are moving from one residence to another and The Orlando Sentinel’s Susan Jacobsen is readying a story on the cost of auto insurance in Florida.
The I.I.I.’s James Lynch spoke with Eric Harding of Contingencies, the American Academy of Actuaries, who has a reporter working on a story about cryonics and insurance.
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry was interviewed by Nick DiUlio of InsuranceQuotes.com (the cost of insuring teen drivers) and Jessica Sillers of MoneyGeek.com (auto insurance tips for disabled drivers).
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore is quoted in a news release the Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) issued this week about the launch of an LPI newsletter aimed at architects and engineers.
CAPITOL HILL
The U.S. Senate passed a bill (S. 2040) allowing 9/11 victims, and their families, to sue foreign nations alleged to have played a role in the attacks.
May 2015’s deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia was likely caused by a distracted train engineer, the National Transportation Safety Board says.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule could have an adverse impact on P/C insurers, according the American Insurance Association (AIA).
STATES
Alabama
Six of the 43 tornadoes that have touched down so far this year achieved EF-2 wind speeds. The balance were either EF-Os or EF-1s.
California
‘The Terminator and Me’ is the caption under a picture of the I.I.I.’s Hartwig and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at this month’s Cal State Fullerton’s insurance forum.
Governor Jerry Brown wants the state Legislature to allocate $10 million toward a seismic early warning system being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the LA Times reports.
San Francisco real estate valued at $77 billion is at risk from sea level rise by 2100, a Risk Management Solutions (RMS) analysis found.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced the arrest of more than a dozen people for defrauding four auto insurance companies while operating a staged accident scam in Fresno County.
The Department of Insurance should clarify to its claims investigators when a complaint against an insurer can be deemed “justified,” according to the Personal Insurance Federation of California (PIFC).
Florida
The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) is seeking an actuarial firm to assess whether the state should either eliminate or modify its no-fault automobile insurance system.
No hurricane has made landfall in the state since October 2005, and ‘hurricane amnesia’ may have set in over the past 10-plus years, according to this Sarasota Herald-Tribune article.
Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is in a very strong financial position, the Miami Herald reports.
The National Weather Service’s new wind threat level maps will tell people in specific areas what kind of wind force to prepare for, and what to expect from its impact.
Georgia
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig delivered a PowerPoint presentation yesterday (May 17) in Atlanta on the financial pressures auto insurers face in Georgia.
Hawaii
There is a 9 percent chance of a mega-tsunami striking the state over the next 50 years due to a severe quake in the Aleutian Islands, University of Hawaii researchers found.
Kansas
Bill Kurtis, who covered the June 8, 1966, Topeka tornado for WIBW-TV, will recount his memories of the deadly storm on Saturday, June 4, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Washburn University.
Louisiana
Drivers who let their auto insurance policies lapse collectively owe the Office of Motor Vehicles $265 million in unpaid fines but lawmakers want to offer them some financial relief.
Maryland
Access Funding violated state law when persuading lead-poisoning victims in Baltimore to sell the structured settlements they received in personal injury lawsuits for a fraction of their worth, state Attorney General Brian Frosh alleges.
Montana
The state is requesting a federal major disaster declaration to secure public assistance for five counties hit by a severe storm on April 15–16, 2016.
New Jersey
The Pinelands have previously been the site of wildfires but a significant one could adversely impact seven counties, Rolling Stone reports.
Nevada
Complaints about squatters residing in empty Las Vegas residences increased 43 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to a front-page print edition story in the Sunday, May 15, New York Times.
Oklahoma
A public hearing on the state’s rising earthquake insurance rates is being held on Tuesday, May 24, from 8 to 10 a.m., at the Insurance Department’s Oklahoma City office.
Nearly a dozen insurers and reinsurers have taken steps in recent years to reduce their exposure to the state’s earthquakes, Reuters reported.
Insurance Commissioner John Doak discussed the Reuters earthquake story in a live interview with Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate on Monday, May 16.
Pennsylvania
Homeowners and renters need to examine their insurance coverage before renting their residences to attendees of either the U.S. Open Golf Tournament in Oakmont (June 13–19) or the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (July 25–28).
Texas
Eight people died, and another 44 were injured, after a charter bus overturned on Saturday, May 14, in Webb County, not far from Laredo.
The West Fertilizer Plant fire and explosion, which killed 15 individuals on April 17, 2013, may have been the result of a “criminal act,” federal and state agencies believe.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Bike to Work Week
This is Bike to Work Week and on Snapchat (IIIorg) you can follow the daily commutes of I.I.I. employees who take their bicycles to work. The hashtags #BikeToWorkWeek, #BikeNYC, and #BikeMonth are other places to follow the conversation on social.
Univision 45 Helpline
Univision 45 is hosting a live Helpline from 5 to 7 p.m., CT, tonight (May 18) in Houston to answer viewer questions about insurance coverage prior to the start of hurricane season.
Follow @IIIorg and the I.I.I.’s Salvatore and González on Twitter at @JeanneSalvatore, @III_EnEspanol, and @ElianneGo for Helpline updates. Follow Noticias 45 Houston on Twitter at @NoticiasHouston. The Univision A Su Lado program’s hashtag, #45Asulado, and the I.I.I.’s hashtag, #Preparese, are other places to follow the conversation on social.
Cyber Insurance and Identity (ID) Theft Coverage
The I.I.I. posted online this week a State of the Industry article on Cyber Insurance and Identity Theft Coverage. Direct written premiums in the U.S. cyber insurance market totaled $1.2 billion for the year ending December 31, 2015, based on data reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as of April 25, 2016.
Oklahoma’s Earthquakes and Insurance
The recent Reuters report on the rising number of Oklahoma earthquakes and how insurance companies are limiting their exposure to them is receiving moderate attention on social. Energydesk tweeted an infographic taken from a Financial Times article showing that 890 earthquakes occurred in Oklahoma in 2015.
MEDIA MATTERS
The I.I.I.’s Steve Weisbart is quoted in a Forensic Files blogger’s look at criminal cases where life insurance became an issue.
Gannett raised by 22 percent its bid for Tribune Publishing.
Billy Bush is joining the 9 a.m., ET, hour of NBC’s Today show in August while Natalie Morales is moving to Access Hollywood. Morales will also serve as Today’s West Coast anchor.
The number of unionized newsroom jobs at the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press has dropped to 74 from more than 200 in 2006, according to a Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist.
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
