To recap the issues raised during Tuesday’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, December 5, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
HURRICANE SANDY NEWS
NEW YORK INSURANCE ASSOCIATION (NYIA) REPORTS TEMPORARY FREEZE ON DOWNSTATE POLICY ACTIONS REMAINS IN EFFECT
The state Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) temporary freeze on personal and commercial lines insurance policy cancellations, terminations or non-renewals in the 10 designated counties (New York, Bronx, Kings, Richmond, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Orange) is still in effect, according to NYIA. The freeze began on Friday, October 26 and will likely remain in force well into December 2012.
PBS NEWS HOUR OFFERS NUANCED LOOK AT WHY SOME COASTAL NEW YORK BUSINESSES CHOSE NOT TO BUY FLOOD INSURANCE
The Monday, November 19, segment included a brief excerpt from PBS’s taped interview with the I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig. The Wednesday, November 21, NewsHour broadcast is expected to feature more of PBS’s conversation with Hartwig, and may explore how issues like climate change and Hurricane Sandy could potentially impact the insurance and reinsurance industries.
CNN PRODUCER TO INTERVIEW I.I.I.’s PRESIDENT AMID ANECDOTAL REPORTS ABOUT SANDY RELATED INSURANCE PROBLEMS IN BROOKLYN
CNN on-air reporter Deborah Feyerick and senior producer Dana Garrett taped an interview with the I.I.I.’s Hartwig at the I.I.I.’s main office in New York City on Wednesday afternoon, November 21. CNN wanted an industry response to some of the policyholder complaints CNN had heard in Gerrittsen Beach, Brooklyn.
CBS EVENING NEWS STORY ABOUT DISSATISFIED NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM POLICYHOLDER IN NYC HAS NOT AS YET AIRED
Reporter Michelle Miller’s segment was slotted for broadcast late last week and held amid breaking news regarding the BP Oil settlement and the Middle East conflict.
WPIX-TV, A NEW YORK TELEVISION STATION, INTERVIEWED THE I.I.I. IN LONG BEACH, NEW YORK
The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry gave a live interview to WPIX-TV on Tuesday morning, November 20, in Long Beach, NY (Nassau County, Long Island) regarding Sandy coverage issues.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS READYING PIECES THAT ARE LIKELY TO SPECULATE ABOUT SANDY CAUSED PROPERTY RATE HIKES
Connecticut-based AP reporter Steven Singer and Reuters’ Cynthia Ramnarace are trying to determine how past hurricanes have impacted homeowners rates in the states where they struck.
NEW YORK CITY’S NBC AFFILIATE DOING RESEARCH ON HOW FLOOD CLAIMS INVOLVING A TOTAL LOSS ARE HANDLED FOR LEASED VEHICLES
The producer for WNBC-TV consumer reporter Lynda Baquero spoke with the I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore about a woman whose leased Mercedes was destroyed in lower Manhattan due to flooding from Sandy. In a related development, Jill Beissel is writing an article on the potential increase in flooded vehicles surfacing in the market, post-Sandy. The I.I.I.’s Salvatore got the National Insurance Crime Bureau into the loop on the latter story.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Sandy is still the number one trending insurance related topic on social networks this week. The topic of flood insurance is appearing on insurance, news and consumer blogs with stories of homeowners and business owners who did not have flood coverage and now feel they will never recover from the storm. The message about the importance of having flood insurance continues to be broadcast.
A more positive insurance story trending on consumer and insurance blogs is about business interruption insurance and how it has been a lifesaver for business owners who were impacted by the storm. There are many positive comments from users who encourage people to be covered for these types of disasters.
Finally, contractor fraud is a trending topic on Twitter; an NICB public service announcement (PSA) video about avoiding scams is getting good pickup.
OTHER INSURANCE NEWS
HIGHWAY LOSS DATA INSTITUTE SAYS GROWING NUMBER OF OLDER DRIVERS NOT EXPECTED TO AFFECT OVERALL COLLISION CLAIM FREQUENCY
The HLDI report was posted at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s website on Tuesday, November 20.
New York Times’ Digital Domain columnist Randall Stross is writing about credit-based insurance scores for his Sunday, November 25, column. Stross’s editor asked him the following questions: to what extent are credit-based insurance scores used today when underwriting auto insurance policies in the U.S.? Are most policies issued by major carriers? Which carriers use this data and which do not?
Louisiana
Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort reported on Tuesday, November 20, that its effort to get private insurers to pick up Citizens policyholders, a persistent problem in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes, continues to move forward. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. said more than 6,800 residential property policies are being transferred to private insurers, dropping Citizens’ count below the 100,000 mark, according to this Louisiana Department of Insurance news release. Citizens held 174,000 policies at its height in February 2008.
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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