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, November 18, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
U.S. LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY’S INVESTABLE ASSETS INCREASED 4 PERCENT IN 2014, CONNING FINDS
Life Insurance Industry Investments: The Search for Yield Runs Dry discusses strategic issues facing the industry, and offers a detailed examination of its asset portfolio.
CHINESE INSURER TO BUY IOWA-BASED FIDELITY & GUARANTY LIFE
I.I.I.’s Hartwig was interviewed by China Daily USA about the recent sales of U.S. insurers to Chinese companies.
REINSURANCE RATES WILL DECLINE 5 PERCENT IN 2016, STANDARD & POOR’S (S&P) SAYS
Rates will drop 5 percent in 2016, on average, as an imbalance between supply and demand for reinsurance capital continues, according to S&P.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
Rick Jervis of USA Today is readying a story on what state had the most natural disaster caused insured losses in 2015. He is focusing on California, Massachusetts and Texas.
Deirdre Fernandes of The Boston Globe is in the earliest stages of developing a story on driverless cars. The story is pegged to an effort to have Massachusetts license driverless vehicles.
Shelly Gigante of Physicians Practice magazine is writing an article on the potential legal liability for physicians writing medical marijuana certifications.
Damaine Vonada of the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Home & Away magazine is doing a story on “Picking Up the Pieces After a Tornado.” It will look at how to find a reputable contractor after a disaster.
CAPITOL HILL
When assessing U.S. auto insurance affordability, the Federal Insurance Office should access existing state auto insurer databases in California, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas, an advisory panel recommended (the A.M. Best story is available by subscription only).
The U.S. Forest Service budget, and the agency’s ability to combat wildfires on federal lands, were discussed at a U.S. Senate hearing on Thursday, November 5.
STATES
Alabama
Dozens of scientists convened in Huntsville yesterday (November 10) to discuss the March 2016 launch of the Vortex-Southeast, a major research effort aimed at studying severe weather in the region.
California
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz appeared in this Los Angeles ABC affiliate segment on Wednesday, November 4. It examined the insurance implications of property damage caused by El Nino.
Ruiz is also taping an interview today (November 11) with Sacramento ABC consumer affairs reporter Marc Thompson, which is scheduled to air on Wednesday, November 18. The topic is holiday travel, with an emphasis on the roadside assistance provision in auto insurance policies.
NBC’s Evening News broadcast a story last night (November 10) on the severe weather forecast for the state this winter due to El Nino.
The San Diego Tribune reported this week on the arrest of five people in connection with a workers compensation insurance bribery scheme. The case is detailed in this U.S. Attorney news release.
Connecticut
Eversource, the state’s largest electric utility, and the University of Connecticut have jointly created a center devoted to studying ways to better predict natural disasters and prepare the state’s power infrastructure, the Hartford Courant reports.
Florida
The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has ordered that workers compensation insurance rates be decreased 5.1 percent next year. The OIR order came after the agency rejected a 1.9 percent decrease proposed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).
Residents should disregard emails that appear to come from the director of the state’s Division of Insurance Fraud. The fraudulent correspondence asks recipients to disclose personal insurance related information, according to Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
Georgia
Former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine now reports he has $723,000 sitting in his 2010 gubernatorial campaign account. That figure is $200,000 more than Oxendine acknowledged having in August 2015 ($518,000), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Mississippi
At least 14 unoccupied cars fell into a 30-foot hole after a parking lot collapsed near a Meridian restaurant on Saturday, November 7.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney was re-elected to a third four-year term, without any formal opposition, on Tuesday, November 3.
Nevada
The high winds and snow that hit Carlin (Elko County) last week caused property damage totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Associated Press reports.
New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie requested a federal disaster declaration, allowing Cape May, Monmouth, and Ocean counties to receive federal monies for damages caused by the severe storms of October 1-4, 2015.
Kingstone Insurance Company announced on Monday, November 9, that it has been approved to write property and casualty insurance in the state.
New York
Three men organized one of the largest cybercrimes ever by stealing data on 100 million people from the computers of a dozen-plus companies, federal prosecutors believe. The indictment alleges the men obtained millions of dollars in illegal profits through a global network of accomplices.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) sent a letter to other state and federal regulators yesterday (November 10) detailing additional proposed cybersecurity rules, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
Ohio
Nine people died after a private plane crashed into an Akron residential neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, November 10. The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene.
Oklahoma
Deductibles equal to 10 percent of a home’s insured value are discouraging people from purchasing earthquake coverage, according to industry sources quoted in this Tulsa ABC affiliate story from Monday, November 9.
MEDIA MATTERS
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s parent company announced this week it will lay off 153 of the paper’s approximately 1,100 employees.
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.
