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 30, please email Michael Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
U.S. FEDERAL INSURANCE OFFICE (FIO) REPORT WINS PRAISE FROM CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA (CFA)
The FIO’s Report on the Protection of Insurance Consumers and Access to Insurance was released on Monday, November 21, and the CFA issued a news release on the report’s findings the following day.
NEW YORK TIMES PUBLISHED PROMINENT STORIES ON DISTRACTED DRIVING, AUTO INSURER CLAIM PAYOUTS
The NYT placed on the front-page of its Wednesday, November 16, print version a detailed look at distracted driving. The paper’s Sunday, November 20, edition gave credence to a little-known data analytics company’s findings.
NEW SATELLITE WILL DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE U.S.’s SEVERE WEATHER FORECASTS, NOAA SAYS
The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) successfully lifted off last weekend from Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s James Lynch was interviewed by the Associated Press’ Detroit-based Tom Krisher about the cost of insuring a 2017 Chevy Bolt, a battery-operated vehicle.
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry spoke with The Oregonian’s Samantha Matsumoto (Portland’s riots), The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Walker Oskop (I.I.I.’s latest auto white paper) and New Jersey Monthly’s Janice Perricone (home insurer reluctance to cover properties with knob and wire construction).
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters was interviewed by CBSNews.com’s Emily Pfund (winter insurance tips), Money magazine’s Ingrid Case (sharing economy and insurance), and Simple Dollar’s Shannon Jewitt (flood insurance basics).
The I.I.I.’s Janet Ruiz is working with The San Francisco Chronicle’s Kathleen Pender (auto insurer use of telematics) and The Seattle Times’ Emily Ng (earthquake risk in Washington).
The I.I.I. furnished The Wall Street Journal with its latest estimates on what the typical U.S. homeowner pays for insurance coverage.
CAPITOL HILL
The U.S. Labor Department’s ‘fiduciary rule’ could survive beyond 2017 because many financial services companies have already made changes to their business models because of it.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Maryland-based Access Funding for deceptively convincing lead paint poisoning victims to sell their settlement payouts to Access Funding for a fraction of their value.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released proposed guidelines to address driver distraction caused by either mobile or electronic devices.
STATES
Alabama
Governor Robert Bentley approved $690,000 in emergency funds to fight the outbreak of wildfires. Since October 1, 1,869 wildfires have burned more than 22,000 acres statewide, according to the Forestry Commission.
California
San Francisco’s CBS affiliate reports Public Storage earned $84 million in 2015 selling its Orange Door Insurance product. The story examines an Orange Door claim denial and the company’s previous legal problems.
Connecticut
State Senators Tim Larson and Cathy Osten, both Democrats, want towns to issue municipal bonds to finance the repair of homes with crumbling foundations, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Florida
A 69-year-old man was arrested and charged with stealing nearly $50,000 in homeowners’ insurance escrow funds while acting as an unlicensed insurance agent in Miami-Dade County, the Chief Financial Officer announced.
More fake auto insurance cards are circulating because law enforcement has no real-time way to check if the cards are legitimate, according to a segment broadcast by Fox’s Fort Myers affiliate.
A 64-year-old woman who worked for state Insurance Consumer Advocate Sha’Ron James says she was wrongly dismissed from her position in state government.
Georgia
The Associated Press’ Atlanta bureau reports there were 44 uncontained wildfires in multiple southeastern states as of yesterday (November 22), with more than 5,000 people working to extinguish them.
Louisiana
Four people who were injured in a June 2013 workplace explosion were awarded a total of $16 million by a jury. The incident killed two individuals at a Williams Olefins Geismar plant, near Baton Rouge.
New York
Four private-passenger auto insurers were asked by the Department of Financial Services to consider dropping their use of either education or occupation as a rating criterion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Madison Square Garden (MSG) Company said individuals who used payment cards at MSG facilities when purchasing food and beverage items between November 2015-October 2016 may have had their data breached.
Nine individuals were convicted for their roles in staging four Long Island auto accidents to receive fraudulent insurance payouts, according to state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
North Carolina
The Party Rock Fire (Buncombe and Rutherford counties) has burned 7,000-plus acres.
The Chestnut Knob Fire (Burke County) burned more than 6,000 acres and prompted mandatory evacuations.
Oklahoma
Nearly 290 insurance claims were filed following the state’s largest earthquake on record, a magnitude 5.8 temblor which struck near Pawnee on September 3, 2016.
Pennsylvania
Fifty individuals were charged with insurance fraud following investigations by Attorney General Bruce Beemer’s office.
Homeowners and businesses in Centre and Lycoming counties are eligible for low-interest U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to repair or replace property damaged by severe flooding on Friday, October 21.
South Carolina
The Pinnacle Mountain Fire (Greenville and Pickens counties) has burned more than 6,000 acres and led to voluntary evacuations.
Tennessee
Five elementary school students died, and 12 were injured, after a bus crashed in Chattanooga on Monday, November 21.
Hundreds of homes were threatened, but none of them damaged, after the East Millers Cove Fire (Blount County) burned nearly 1,500 acres near Walland and Townsend.
Wisconsin
Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate profiled a 93-year-old woman who received the proceeds of an unclaimed life insurance policy which originated in Illinois.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Southeastern Fires
Fires in the southeastern U.S. have been getting heavy attention on social. For weather updates, you can follow the South Carolina Weather Service at @NWSGSP and North Carolina’s Weather Service @NWSRaleigh on Twitter.
To track the conversation, use the hashtag #SoutheastFires.
NOAA-NASA Launch Weather Satellite
NOAA teamed up with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to launch the GOES-R weather satellite. It is expected to improve NOAA’s forecasts and capture high-resolution images to better predict storms and their strength. You can follow the hashtag #GOESR and @NOAA and @NOAASatellites on Twitter for further updates.
Insuring California Blog
The I.I.I’s Ruiz recently published a blog post on insurance innovation at the Plug and Play startup center in Silicon Valley. Visit insuringcalifornia.org and follow @InsuringCAL on Twitter to read her latest insights on the California insurance market.
MEDIA MATTERS
The IBM-owned Weather Company, the digital business which was formerly part of The Weather Channel (TWC), is moving its headquarters to Brookhaven, Georgia, from Cobb County. TWC is remaining at its current site.
The New York Daily News is looking to reduce its personnel expenses by offering voluntary buyouts.
The insurance implications of Kanye West’s tour cancellation has gotten the attention of TMZ.
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.
