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 29, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I. SENDS TWO TO MOORE, OKLAHOMA, TO CONDUCT MEDIA INTERVIEWS AFTER DEVASTATING TORNADO STRIKES NEAR OKLAHOMA CITY
The EF-5 tornado which swept through Moore, Oklahoma on Monday, May 20, caused 24 fatalities, scores of injuries and upwards of $2 billion in insured losses, according to state officials.
I.I.I. president Bob Hartwig and Florida representative Lynne McChristian are now in Oklahoma. The I.I.I. issued this next-day news release, which generated more than 25 follow-up interviews, including high-profile ones for the I.I.I.’s Hartwig (Washington Post), the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore (CNN) and the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters (BBC).
NOAA HOLDING PRESS CONFERENCES ON MAY 23 AND MAY 31 TO GENERATE MEDIA INTEREST IN 2013 HURRICANE SEASON
The Thursday, May 23, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) press conference in College Park, Maryland, will feature the federal government’s hurricane season outlook; a Friday, May 31, NOAA-sponsored media event in Miami, Florida, will include FEMA administrator Craig Fugate and will focus on hurricane preparedness.
FATAL TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN LAST WEEKEND IN SHAWNEE, OKLAHOMA; OTHERS STRIKE KANSAS AND IOWA
Two men were killed in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and another 21 people were injured after tornadoes touched down in that community on Sunday, May 19, CBS News reported. USA Today offered details on the location of other twisters, which struck Kansas and Iowa last weekend.
SIX PEOPLE DIE AFTER 12 TORNADOES HIT NORTH TEXAS, ACCORDING TO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE’s PRELIMINARY REPORT
Nearly 100 homes were destroyed, and 250 people displaced, by a twister that struck Granbury, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, on Wednesday night, May 15, USA Today reports. The I.I.I. issued a media advisory about its resources in the aftermath of the Texas tornado outbreak.
FORBES, SOUTH CAROLINA TV STATION, CONNECTICUT PUBLIC RADIO, HOUSE LOGIC AND ASSOCIATED PRESS HAVE STORIES IN WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig taped an interview for Forbes magazine’s CEO Show, discussing the role of insurance in the economy. It will be posted on Sunday, May 26….the I.I.I.’s Mike Barry briefed Columbia, South Carolina, meteorologist John Farley, who is with the NBC affiliate in that city, on the basics of homeowners insurance for a hurricane preparedness series Farley is doing for broadcast during the week of May 27-31….WNPR, Connecticut Public Radio, is doing research for a story on the insurance repercussions of the Friday, May 17, derailment of a Metro North train near Fairfield, Connecticut, one of the most severe in its history….the I.I.I.’s Salvatore spoke with House Logic’s Deirdre Sullivan about residential pools and insurance….since the call, the I.I.I.’s Hartwig spoke with Jackson, Mississippi-based Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy for a story he is writing about homeowners insurance market trends along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The news peg is the start of the Atlantic hurricane season on Saturday, June 1.
CAPITOL HILL
The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act (HR 928) is making progress in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to this Tuesday, May 21, AIA statement. The former president of Public Citizen criticized the FACT Act in a Monday, May 20, letter to The Wall Street Journal.
STATES
California
Two wildfires broke out within the past week in the mountains around Interstate 5, north of Los Angeles. Both are now under control. One was near Frazier Park and consumed more than 4,000 acres; the other burned about 700 acres and briefly threatened Northlake Hills Elementary School in Castaic, the Associated Press reported, on Saturday, May 18.
The U.S. Geological Survey said two minor earthquakes were felt near Eureka, a city 280 miles north of San Francisco, on Saturday, May 18. No injuries or damages were reported.
Florida
The Palm Beach Post found that some auto insurers have restricted claim payouts as though 2012’s personal injury protection (PIP) legislation (HB 119) were still in effect, even after a judge ruled portions of the law were unconstitutional in March 2013 and ordered an injunction to halt its implementation, according to a front page story in its Sunday, May 19, print edition.
Louisiana
The I.I.I.’s Bill Davis did a live interview on New Orleans’ WWL Radio on Tuesday, May 21. The topics: the Oklahoma tornado and FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The Times-Picayune reported in this Tuesday, May 21, article on U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-Louisiana) introduction of legislation which, if enacted, would halt the implementation of any NFIP premium rate hikes until six months after FEMA conducted an affordability study on the higher NFIP rates mandated under 2012’s Biggert-Waters Act.
New Jersey
About 23 percent of the state’s Sandy claims were closed without a check being issued to the policyholder who filed a claim, this Sunday, May 19, Star-Ledger analysis found.
New York
The state Assembly is considering a bill (AB 7455) that would ban insurers from inserting anti-concurrent causation (ACC) provisions into their policies. The state Department of Financial Services is readying a regulation which would allow home insurers to non-renew annually no more than 2 percent of its policyholders in each county.
Texas
TheCorpus Christi Caller Times (subscription required) bemoaned the demise of SB 1700, a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reform bill, in a Sunday, May 19, editorial. TWIA will likely be discussed during a special legislative session in June 2013, if one is convened.
National Underwriter reported in a Tuesday, May 21, online story that after two years in the job Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman could resign her post by the end of the month.
Wisconsin
The state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said a logging equipment operator’s actions led to a wildfire which started last week near Simms Lake, in Douglas County. The blaze destroyed 17 homes and burned more than 9,000 acres, making it the most severe Wisconsin wildfire since 1980, the Associated Press reported, in this Thursday, May 16, article.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Tornadoes are a much talked-about topic this week, primarily in connection to the disaster in Moore, Oklahoma. Journalists, insurance companies and agents are sharing information on claims filing and homeowners coverage through Twitter, Facebook and various blogs. There is also some focus on conducting a home inventory and the I.I.I.’s Know Your Stuff software and app.
National Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 19-25) is also getting substantial attention, with 2012’s dog bite claim and payout statistics being shared on numerous blogs and Twitter feeds by insurance agents, veterinarians, homeowners associations and pet groups. Since the claims numbers were released last week, they have made thousands of impressions throughout social media.
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
For an I.I.I. Blog search, click here.
