To recap the issues raised during today’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, December 4, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
2013 HAD THE FEWEST NUMBER OF ATLANTIC HURRICANES SINCE 1982, ACCORDING TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)
Thirteen named storms formed this year but only two, Ingrid and Humberto, became hurricanes, and neither was a major one, NOAA’s Monday, November 25, release states.
BUILDING FAILURE CAUSED 135 OF THE 161 JOPLIN, MISSOURI, TORNADO FATALITIES IN MAY 2011, FEDERAL STUDY FINDS
The National Institute for Standards and Technology’s (NIST) findings, released on Thursday, November 21, came more than two years after the deadliest single tornado in U.S. history. The same-day Reuters article on the NIST report noted 80-plus percent of Joplin’s homes do not have basements because of the region’s soil conditions.
NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU (NICB) FINDS U.S. MOTORCYCLE THEFTS FELL 1 PERCENT BETWEEN 2011 AND 2012
The number of thefts nationally dropped to 46,061 from 46,667 motorcycles, according to this NICB report, which was released on Monday, November 25.
A.M. BEST ISSUES SPECIAL REPORT EXAMINING BOTH THE U.S. AND BERMUDA REINSURANCE MARKETS
Posted on Friday, November 22, the eight-page report is available for purchase.
PETER LEWIS, CHAIRMAN OF OHIO-BASED PROGRESSIVE AUTO INSURANCE, DIES IN FLORIDA AT THE AGE OF 80
Lewis’ death on Saturday, November 23, was the subject of major obituaries in The Cleveland Plain-Dealer and The New York Times.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry gave interviews to Consumers Digest’s Jennie Dorris, regarding the industry’s response to the Consumer Federation of America’s (CFA) September 2013 news release on ‘price optimization,’ and Money magazine’s Kate Ashford about what a $1 million umbrella liability policy might cost.
In addition, Barry spoke with the Boston Globe’s Deirdre Fernandes about how some home insurers offer a discount to their non-smoking policyholders. The Globe’s news peg is an application Vermont Mutual made to the Massachusetts insurance regulator, seeking permission to phase out its non-smoker discount over the next few years.
Barry is also scheduled to give a live interview tonight (Wednesday, November 27) in the 6 p.m., ET, hour on Fox Business Network’s Willis Report. Gerri Willis’ producers want the I.I.I. to discuss its Tuesday, November 26, news release on Thanksgiving Day weekend driving.
Finally, the I.I.I.’s Elianne Gonzalez is giving a live interview on Thanksgiving Day on Telemundo’s national morning news program regarding auto insurance and safe winter driving.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark is ending its Broadway run because of insurance issues, this Wednesday, November 20, MSN article said. It received widespread pick-up in social media.
NOAA’s tweet, reporting that the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season had had its fewest number of hurricanes since 1982 was retweeted 112 times and many news organizations reported the information.
The NIST report on 2011’s Joplin, Missouri, tornado, and how building failure caused 84 percent of the event’s 161 fatalities, was mostly picked up by Missouri news outlets and blogs.
The I.I.I.’s press release on driving over the Thanksgiving Day weekend received significant pick-up on social platforms.
CAPITOL HILL
Sarah Bloom Raskin, in line to become deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary, said insurers should not face the same capital rules as banks, this Wednesday, November 20, Reuters article states.
A Friday, November 22, National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) resolution favors a delay in the implementation of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
STATES
Alabama
David Treutel, chairman and founder of Smart Home America, was reappointed chair of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers’ Flood Task Force, according to the Mobile Press-Register.
Alaska
Bret Kolb is stepping down as director of the Alaska Insurance Division effective Thursday, December 19, the Anchorage Daily News reported, in its Wednesday, November 20, edition.
California
A $150 tax imposed annually on rural homes in State Responsibility Areas will increase to $152.33 in 2014, according to this Sunday, November 24, San Diego Union-Tribune story.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones believes workers compensation rates next year should be slightly lower than what the state’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has proposed.
Colorado
The victims of the September floods have until Monday, December 2, to apply for federal aid, according to this article, posted on Saturday, November 23, on The Boulder Daily Camera’s website.
Florida
House Bill 119, the law enacted in 2012 to limit auto claim payouts to certain health care providers under the state’s personal injury protection (PIP) system, can take effect now that the First District Court of Appeals has reaffirmed its previous ruling, which lifted an injunction on HB 119, this Monday, November 25, Palm Beach Post story states.
The Sun-Sentinel reported in its Wednesday, November 20, edition that Colorado State University’s hurricane forecasts could be “gone with the wind” without additional funding.
Georgia
Jamie Kimbrough (email: jamie@giis.org) has been named executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service. He replaces David Colmans, who retired earlier this year.
Indiana
A Muncie man convicted of arson and insurance fraud has returned to Muncie after serving four years in prison, this Monday, November 25, Scripps Howard News Service article explains.
The Insurance Department is asking insurers to extend a 60-day moratorium on the issuance of cancellation or non-renewal notices in counties hit by this month’s tornadoes.
Iowa
Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart has asked FEMA to waive certain insurance requirements for the University of Iowa. If granted, the waiver would allow monies to be disbursed to the university’s Iowa City campus for the rebuilding of structures either damaged or destroyed after 2008’s Iowa River flood, this Monday, November 25, Associated Press article states.
Cedar Rapids-based United Fire Group and West Des Moines’ GuideOne had numerous policyholders file claims after the November 17 tornadoes, The Des Moines Register reported.
Louisiana
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon handed President Obama a letter about higher federal flood insurance premiums during a Wednesday, November 20, White House meeting, the Times-Picayune reported.
A trial in a Katrina-era case brought against Jefferson Parish and its former president, Aaron Broussard, is scheduled to start on Monday, January 13, 2014, according to this Thursday, November 21, New Orleans Times-Picayune article. The plaintiffs allege that 30,000 properties were flooded because of actions taken by the Parish and Broussard in August 2005.
Massachusetts
I.I.I. data was cited in this Monday, November 25, Worcester Telegram article on a spate of deer-caused auto accidents this month in the Northboro-Shrewsbury area.
Mississippi
The Biloxi Sun Herald posted a Wednesday, November 20, Associated Press article which said Congress is unlikely to modify in 2013 the flood insurance reform law it enacted in 2012.
Texas
Rep. Craig Eiland (D-Galveston) is representing the city of Galveston in a Hurricane Ike-related legal action Galveston took against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), the Houston Chronicle reported, in this Friday, November 22, article.
MEDIA MATTERS
Katie Couric will become Yahoo’s global news anchor early next year, the Associated Press reported, in this Monday, November 25, article.
John Zarrella, CNN’s Miami bureau chief for nearly 30 years, is leaving CNN next month.
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.
