SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL May 23, 2012

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 30, please email Mike Barry at Michaelb@iii.org.

 

The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore spoke with FNC’s Jamie Colby about this issue on Sunday, May 20, at 11:20 a.m., ET.  Insurance.com’s story on the matter from Monday, May 14, was the news peg.  The website’s piece got onto FNC’s radar because Insurance.com retained Olgivy to pitch their findings to various media outlets, the I.I.I. has learned. In addition, Salvatore did a Bloomberg Radio interview on the same topic early this week, and the I.I.I. issued a news release on the subject on Thursday, May 24.

The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters said more than 50 television stations aired pieces citing I.I.I. data from a Thursday, May 17, news release.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made an official announcement in this Friday, May 18, news release.  Dr. Knabb will succeed Bill Read, who is retiring, on Monday, June 4.

Former Reuters reporter Ed Leefeldt is writing the blog, and he is doing research into the lender-placed homeowners insurance industry for an upcoming story.

The I.I.I.’s Salvatore appears prominently throughout this Designing Spaces segment, which aired in the New York City market on Lifetime TV on Thursday morning, May 24, and will be rebroadcast on the same cable network on Friday, June 15. The story was taped in Nashville, Tennessee, in early April 2012; the I.I.I. was recruited for this assignment by FEMA.

 

The I.I.I. received calls this week from Teresa Murray of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer about a story she is readying on PAYD auto insurance policies, Bloomberg TV about how U.S. insurers are adapting to non-coastal, non-tropical weather events, and CNN Radio about whether insurers are seeing an uptick in claims related to accidents caused by distracted pedestrians.

 

Major print (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Joplin Globe) and electronic media (KY-3, KOLR-TV) incorporated into their coverage of the one-year anniversary of the Joplin tornado information from the I.I.I.’s Thursday, May 17, news release.

 

Governor Jay Nixon is on the verge of having a worker’s compensation bill land on his desk. The measure focuses solely on preventing employees from suing co-workers for on-the-job injuries, according to this story in the Thursday, May 17, edition of The Jefferson City News-Leader.

The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association and its partners have launched an aggressive public information campaign about the need to be Wildfire Ready.

 

Tropical Storm Alberto’s formation off the coast of South Carolina over the weekend of May 19-20 prompted the South Carolina Insurance News Service (SCINS) to issue a Monday, May 21, news release on the imminent arrival of hurricane season, and how coastal residents should make sure they have the right insurance coverage.

The state’s Department of Financial Services explored the financial arrangements between banks and lender-placed homeowners insurers, at a series of public hearings in New York City within the past week. The sessions were chronicled in this New York Times article on Tuesday, May 22.

The Governor’s Hurricane Conference was held between May 13-18 in Fort Lauderdale. The media’s four takeaways: 1) don’t let six hurricane-free years in Florida fool you into thinking the upcoming season will be a quiet one; 2) the legacy of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew was that Florida needs to enforce its building codes; 3) the National Hurricane Center will broaden its forecasting capabilities by developing six- and seven-day track projections; 4) policymakers are concerned that Floridians may have become too complacent after numerous hurricane-free years. 

 

Louisiana is setting aside a portion of the $67 million the state received from the national foreclosure settlement earlier this year to help homeowners impacted adversely by Chinese drywall, according to this Tuesday, May 22, New Orleans City Business article.

 

Four wildfires have burned nearly 32,000 acres, most of them in the central part of the state this month. The so-called Gladiator Wildfire is the most dangerous ongoing blaze, according to this Monday, May 21, Arizona Republic article. The Republic also links to the Phoenix NBC affiliate’s story on the wildfires from Monday evening, May 21.

 

A tornado swept through northern Minneapolis, killing two and injuring 29, on May 22, 2011. The event was overshadowed by the deadlier tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on the same day.  The Pioneer Press reported in this Monday, May 21, article that insurance claims payouts from the Minneapolis tornado are estimated at upwards of $80 million.

 

About 98 percent of the 11,500-plus insurance claims filed after four tornadoes touched down near Springfield, on June 1, 2011, have been paid, according to this Wednesday, May 23, Associated Press article. The tornadoes caused three deaths while damaging or destroying about 1,400 homes and 78 businesses in the western and central part of the state, the AP reported.

 

Patch.com’s future is being debated at America Online after the AOL-owned website lost more than $100 million in 2011, according a Wednesday, May 23, story in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

 

During National Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 20-26), social media has been filled with talk about dog bite liability claims.  Insurance agents, journalists, consumer groups, and the U.S. Postal Service have taken to Facebook, Twitter and various blogs to share facts and statistics about liability claims for dog bites, some of which come from the I.I.I.’s May 17 news release on the subject. The general message of all these posts is to point out how much money is paid out every year for dog bite claims and how important it is for dog owners to be responsible, train their pets well and make sure their pets do not bite anyone.

 

The one-year anniversary of the Joplin tornado on May 22, 2011, is also making ripples in social media with insurance agents and journalists on Twitter sharing how the insurance industry has played a key role in helping Joplin endure and rebuild.  The I.I.I.’s May 17 news release on the insurance repercussions of the event is being shared in many of these conversations.

 

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.