SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL May 25, 2011

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 June 1, please contact Loretta Worters at lorettaw@iii.org

 

Joplin, Missouri was leveled by a tornado that killed more than 100 people: The National Weather Service has upgraded the tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday, May 22, to an EF-5 storm—the highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale for measuring the strength of tornadoes—with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour, according to this Tuesday, May 24, Associated Press story. The number of people killed in the storm has been revised upward to 122 people, the AP added. Meanwhile, rescue crews are continuing to search for survivors. Authorities put the injured toll at more than 750 with hundreds still reported missing in the southwestern Missouri town.  President Barack Obama, who is in Europe this week on a planned six-day trip, said he will travel to Joplin on Sunday, May 29, to view the devastation. The president issued a statement in London stating that the thoughts of the American people are with those affected by the weekend tornadoes in Missouri, Minnesota and across the Midwest, and that the federal government will remain in the stricken areas until every home is repaired, every neighborhood rebuilt and every business is back on its feet.

 

I.I.I.’s Bill Davis has arrived in Missouri to handle on-site media interviews:  The I.I.I. issued this Thursday, May 26, media advisory on how to reach him.

Oklahoma, Arkansas hit hard by tornadoes, which also caused fatalities:  The Tuesday, May 24, tornadoes in Oklahoma were covered in this New York Times article as well as this Wednesday, May 25, story in The Daily Oklahoman. Meanwhile, the Times Record, which covers western Arkansas, offered details on the death and destruction in that part of the state in a Thursday, May 26, article.

 

I.I.I. news release generates coverage in The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Reuters TV, Hearst TV, the Christian Science Monitor, and The Hartford Courant:  I.I.I. president Robert Hartwig spoke with The Wall Street Journal and American Public Media radio about the insurance repercussions of the past month’s deadly tornadoes; the I.I.I.’s Mike Barry discussed the same issues with Reuters and Hearst, and the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters talked with The Christian Science Monitor. In addition, the Hartford Courant’s Matt Sturdevant filed a Wednesday, May 25, item on the industry’s response to the spring 2011 tornadoes. The I.I.I. issued a news release on Monday, May 23.

Kansas City, Missouri, was under a tornado watch prior to the I.I.I.’s media call:  The Kansas City Star reported on the severe weather in that city around mid-day on Wednesday, May 25, and Fox News Channel carried live pictures of downtown Kansas City that same afternoon, citing the tornado watch.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Lisa Brown spoke with the I.I.I.’s Barry about the issues the Missouri Insurance Department may confront as property insurers discuss with their regulator later this year the economic issues raised by the Joplin tornado.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio host Tom Harrington interviewed the I.I.I.’s Steve Weisbart on the Thursday, May 26, broadcast of The Current, the CBC’s national morning current affairs program, about the prospective economic impacts of the severe tornado season in the U.S.

USA Today personal finance reporter Sandra Block (sblock@usatoday.com) is working on a column about what a standard homeowners policy will, and will not, cover when a home and everything in it is destroyed, with the news peg being the Joplin, Missouri, disaster.  Block is interviewing the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore for her story.

 

The New York Times’ Christine Hauser (hauser@nytimes.com) spoke on different occasions with the I.I.I.’s Hartwig, Barry and Worters for a story that is likely to include a discussion of the insurance issues arising out of not only the southern and Midwestern state tornadoes but also last month’s Mississippi River flooding.  Hauser’s enterprise piece may not run for another week or so.

The Northeast Times’ John Loftus interviewed the I.I.I.’s Salvatore on what an policyholder should do if their home or rental apartment is burglarized.

Kiplinger Personal Finance’s Pat Mertz Esswein interviewed the I.I.I.’s Worters for a story that will appear in the August 2011 issue of that magazine on what the insurance implications are for renting out your home’s basement as a residence. 

 

D.C. SATELLITE MEDIA TOUR WITH THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM REACHED MORE THAN 30 MAJOR U.S. TELEVISION MARKETS
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore and Elianne Gonzalez  gave 30-plus TV interviews in English and Spanish late last week about the importance of having flood insurance:  The satellite media tour (SMT) allowed the I.I.I. to convey its messages to a number of major media markets; FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) financed the initiative. The NFIP’s PR firm, Ogilvy’s D.C. office, coordinated the project on the federal government’s behalf.  The attached document links to a number of the markets and segments where the I.I.I. appeared.

The state approved a 9.8 percent premium rate increase for South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association policyholders:  The new rates, which have been approved by the South Carolina Insurance Department, will go into effect when existing Beach Plan policies are renewed, according to this Tuesday, May 24, Post and Courier article.

 

Los Angeles Times covers California Department of Insurance session that focused on MetLife’s business practices:  The LA Times’s next-day story on the Monday, May 23, public hearing also touched briefly on the Insurance Commissioner’s expansion of the investigation into this issue.

 

U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter died at age 77 in Tupelo, Mississippi:  Judge Senter, who retired earlier this year and died on Wednesday, May 18, served as a circuit judge before he was appointed to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. His full name was Lionel Thomas Senter but he went by L.T., according to this Associated Press obituary.

 

MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS THE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER NEEDS TO ACT ON COMMERCIAL AUTO RATES

AG Martha Coakley’s office claims commercial auto insurance policyholders have paid $1 billion more than they should have over the past seven years:  The Boston Globe filed this Tuesday, May 24, article on the regulatory dispute between the attorney general and Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announces Commissioner Jane Cline’s plans to leave office:  This Wednesday, May 18, gubernatorial news release offers details.

 

Haines was one of the most familiar on-air personalities at the network:  He died unexpectedly on Tuesday evening, May 24, at his New Jersey home, the New York Times reports.

 

 

–Ron Lieber of the New York Times tweeted about a Tuesday, May 24, article about what to take with you when evacuating your home in advance of a disaster warning.  This article covers the basics of the types of items you would need in an evacuation and asks readers to post their top items in the comments section.  Lots of people have weighed in with their lists and have an ongoing discussion about what is truly important and useful versus items that are more sentimental in nature.

 

–Another Lieber tweet connects to the Twitter hashtag category on Joplin, Missouri, which serves as a sort of time line of events for the town that was devastated by tornadoes over the weekend. The hashtag grouping includes tweets and information from victims, insurers, journalists and organizations assisting with the disaster.

 

–An overall trend of insurance topics in social media this week covers the topics of disaster preparedness and evacuation, with I.I.I. resources being cited in Twitter and Facebook postings.  Most of these postings are as a result of the Joplin, Missouri, tornado and deal with how to take a good home inventory and be prepared if you have only minutes to evacuate from your home. Included in this was a CDC report on how to prepare for all types of disasters, including a zombie apocalypse, which proved to be a great way to get pick-up on the topic of disaster preparedness.        

 

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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