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 9, please email Michael Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I. RELEASES ITS CYBER RISK WHITE PAPER
Cyberrisk: Threat and Opportunity examines the current exposure to cyber risk, and how insurers are responding.
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S FIDICUARY RULE WILL HAVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, WALL STREET JOURNAL GUEST COLUMNIST WRITES
The editorial (Your 401(k) Doesn’t Need a Federal Babysitter) was written by Anthony Scarammuci, host of Fox Business Network’s Wall Street Week.
NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU (NICB) REPORTS 31% INCREASE IN THEFTS (2013-15) INVOLVING CARS WITH KEYS LEFT IN THE VEHICLE
More Drivers Are Losing Their Cars By Leaving Their Keys, the NICB found, in a study it released on Tuesday, November 1.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The Wall Street Journal may be preparing a piece on private-passenger auto insurer use of education and occupation as rating criteria.
The I.I.I.’s James Lynch was interviewed today (November 2) by a Politico.com transportation writer regarding driverless cars and insurance.
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz gave a phone interview to San Francisco’s CBS affiliate on how home and health policies often differ when it comes to covering a policyholder’s domestic partner.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore spoke with Al Roker’s production company about a program it is developing on natural disasters and insurance.
CAPITOL HILL
U.S. vehicles consumed 71.8 billion gallons of gasoline in the first half of 2016. This will be the sixth straight year fuel consumption has increased, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
STATES
Alabama
One person died, and five people were injured, after a gas pipeline exploded on Monday, October 31, in Helena (Shelby County). AL.com explored the insurance implications of the event.
California
The state’s Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week over the legality of a regulation requiring property insurers to calculate a home’s “replacement value” in its policies, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The Central Valley accounts for 18 percent of the state’s workers compensation claims but only 15 percent of its benefit payouts, a study released yesterday (November 1) found.
A Dallas-based law firm announced it secured an $18 million judgment on behalf of a California political figure who was diagnosed with cancer after being exposed to a substance containing asbestos.
Attorney General Kamala Harris recovered $15 million for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, her office stated.
Florida
FEMA has disbursed $7.5 million in individual assistance in areas affected by Hurricane Matthew. In addition, governments in seven counties are eligible for federal Matthew recovery funds, according to an article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
FEMA extended the deadline for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders to file claims resulting from September 2016’s Hurricane Hermine.
A Ruskin (Hillsborough County) homeowner has mold and water intrusion problems, which a standard homeowners insurance policy will not cover, Tampa Bay’s CBS affiliate reported.
Georgia
The state’s property insurers have until Friday, November 4, at noon, to file their initial Hurricane Matthew data (e.g., claims received, losses incurred) with the Insurance Department.
Individuals seeking Matthew-related assistance were able to meet today (November 2) with state Insurance Department personnel at locales in Savannah and Brunswick.
Iowa
The president declared a major disaster, making federal funding available to 19 counties following the severe storms and flooding during the period of September 21 – October 3, 2016.
Kansas
Two tornadoes that touched down in Saline County on October 6 caused $500,000 in damages.
Maryland
Six people were killed and 10 were injured yesterday (November 1) when a school bus and a Maryland Transit Administration bus collided in southwest Baltimore.
Michigan
Grand Rapids’ NBC affiliate broadcast a story about auto insurers that incorporate ‘step-down’ clauses into their private-passenger policies.
Missouri
A St. Louis County jury awarded $70 million to a 59-year-old California woman after finding that Johnson & Johnson’s products contributed to her ovarian cancer.
The I.I.I.’s website content was cited in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article on how drivers with poor credit-based insurance scores often pay more for auto insurance.
New Jersey
Sandy fraud cases have resulted in the wrongful allocation of millions of dollars, one of the state’s top media outlets reported.
New York
U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, asking for an update on its investigation into Sandy-related flood claim processing irregularities.
Oklahoma
Most Pawnee-area properties that sustained damage due to the 5.8-magnitude quake in September 2016 lacked insurance coverage for earthquakes, according to Insurance Commissioner John Doak.
Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Wolf is expected to sign into law House Bill 1403, a measure requiring life insurers to compare their in-force policies against the Death Master File maintained by the U.S. Social Security Administration.
South Carolina
Governor Nikki Haley will take part in a Team South Carolina Hurricane Matthew relief event in Conway on Friday, November 4.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Alabama gas pipeline explosion
The Alabama gas pipeline explosion is getting heavy attention on social media this week. The Colonial Pipeline explosion occurred on Monday, October 31, killing one person and injuring at least five others. Colonial Pipeline is on Twitter at @Colpipe. For further updates, you can also follow the Alabama Emergency Management Agency at @AlabamaEMA and Alabama’s governor at @GovernorBentley.
Social media users are tying the Alabama incident to the North Dakota pipeline protests. To follow the latter conversation, use the hashtag #NoDAPL.
Sandy’s 4th anniversary
Industry news resource @InsuranceCrowd tweeted a Programbusiness.com article today (November 2) on fraud cases popping up in New Jersey four years after Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on October 29, 2012. You can follow @InsuranceCrowd and @ProgramBusiness on Twitter as well as the hashtag #SandyAnniversary to follow the conversation.
Alabama, Georgia wildfires
The I.I.I. recently tweeted about the wildfires sweeping across Alabama and Georgia as drought conditions worsen in those two states. For more updates on the story, follow Alabama news at @ALdotcom.
MEDIA MATTERS
Fox Business Network (FBN) averaged 170,000 daytime viewers in October 2016, the first time ever FBN has topped CNBC in daytime viewership (164,000) for a full month.
To avoid layoffs, News Corporation offered buyouts to all 1,500 employees in the combined news department of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.
The Wall Street Journal is also revamping its print edition format effective Monday, November 14.
Gannett has dropped its bid to acquire Tronc, publisher of The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times as well as nine other major U.S. daily newspapers, such as The Baltimore Sun and The Orlando Sentinel.
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.
