SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL November 5 and November 7, 2012

If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, November 14, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.

 

The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry opened the conference call with a reading of the anti-trust statement.  Incoming Communications Committee Chairman David Beigie of State Farm, and current Communications Committee Chairman Rick Phillips of Nationwide, both expressed their thanks to the I.I.I.’s staff for offering consistent messaging and quick responses to the media, even though the I.I.I. was unable to gain access to its main office in lower Manhattan (October 29-November 2).

 

The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig said Hurricane Sandy will be a story for a long time because of the extensive damage the storm caused as well as its widespread impact on those residing in the nation’s largest media market. Hartwig elaborated on the extent of the I.I.I.’s media activities later in the call.

 

The I.I.I.’s work with both national and local media covering Sandy has reached a significant audience. Television appearances by the I.I.I. were broadcast to an estimated 9.3 million viewers nationwide over the past week. These insurance-related stories appeared on 419 different television stations, according to TV Eyes, our broadcast monitoring service. In addition, the I.I.I. was mentioned in over 200 print media outlets nationwide and quoted and sourced in 3,000-plus Web-based articles.

 

CBS’s This Morning, NBC’s Today Show, PBS’s Nightly Business Report, and Fox Business Network’s Willis Report were among the many high-profile national TV appearances the I.I.I. made before, during and after Sandy’s arrival, according to the I.I.I.’s Hartwig.  The I.I.I. also did extensive radio interviews as well, recognizing this was the primary source of information for New York/New Jersey/Connecticut residents who were without power.

 

To date, the tone of the media coverage regarding insurance has been mostly neutral, focusing on the amount of insured losses, coverage issues, claim filing tips and other related topics. Negative comments from elected officials, residents and the media have mostly focused on the continued lack of power, water and other necessities, as well as long gas lines and disruptions to mass transportation. However, the I.I.I. is starting to hear insurance complaints from some of our contacts at local media.  It seems that consumers have contacted media outlets with anecdotes about not being able to get in touch with their insurance companies or being told that it will be several weeks before an adjuster will be able to get to their homes. It is difficult to tell if these complaints represent a few isolated individuals or if there will be a growing number of unsatisfied claimants. The I.I.I. would like to counter these anecdotes with examples of insurers assisting their policyholders in the aftermath of this storm. For example, we are interested in promoting the location of your company’s catastrophe vans or other claim centers created for this storm.

 

It was also a very busy week-and-a-half in terms of Web and social media activity, noted the I.I.I.’s Andréa Basora. The I.I.I’s  social media efforts before, during, and after Sandy on our Twitter feed and Facebook page. Twitter, in particular, was a crucial communications tool during the storm, as for many people without power, the platform became one of their primary sources of information and updates. We received hundreds of mentions and retweets on Twitter, especially from the insurance industry and the media. Meanwhile, the I.I.I.’s Facebook page weekly reach increased by almost 165%.

 

Before Sandy’s arrival, the I.I.I. heavily promoted the I.I.I.’s Know Your Plan mobile app as an important step people could take in preparing for the storm.  This resulted in a Saturday, October 27 article and video on Five Emergency Apps to Download before Sandy Hits that included the I.I.I. app on the Internet news blog Mashable. In another highly visible social media hit, the Associated Press sent out a Twitter post about their article Seven Steps for Dealing with Hurricane Sandy and Insurance, which referenced I.I.I. content extensively; this got retweeted by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s feed, a primary source of Sandy-related information during the storm.  

 

To help consumers get in touch with their insurance company, the I.I.I. has promoted its list of Insurance Company Claims Filing Telephone Numbers and Contact Information. Several local media outlets are promoting this information on their websites. If you have any updated information or other mechanisms through which your policyholders can file a claim, please email Andréa Basora at andreab@iii.org.

 

We will be discussing the industry’s response to the hurricane at our Communications Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 27 and Wednesday, November 28, 2012, in Orlando, Florida.

 

The I.I.I.’s Cary Schneider said the I.I.I.’s Barry (michaelb@iii.org) is compiling a list of catastrophe van locations and asked that member companies email this information to him. The I.I.I.’s Salvatore (jeannes@iii.org) added that she will connect member company adjusters with reporters who are covering Sandy’s aftermath, if the company seeks that type of publicity.

 

The I.I.I.’s Hartwig noted that Elianne González (elianneg@iii.org) has done an excellent job of spreading the industry’s messages about coverage issues and claims filing and congratulated her on her hard work and success in securing Spanish-language media coverage over the past week.

 

PCI’s Jeff Brewer said that his organization has been working with state insurance departments to determine if, and how, hurricane deductibles may apply in states where Sandy hit. The AIA’s Will Rijksen said his trade group was inundated with media calls between October 30 and November 1, but that they had decreased markedly on Friday, November 2 and into Monday, November 5. Rijksen congratulated the I.I.I. on its quick and aggressive response to Sandy-related media inquiries.  The IBHS’s Brenda O’Connor said her company had distributed information to the media on repairing and rebuilding properties and has plans to follow up with messaging on how to build resilient homes and businesses.

 

NYIA’s Ellen Melchionni said that Governor Cuomo’s news release on hurricane deductibles, in which his office said insurers could not apply them to Sandy-caused damage in New York, had created confusion because some policyholders took that statement to mean no deductibles of any type could be charged by insurers.  New York’s Department of Financial Services has told insurers they cannot issue cancellation or non-renewal notices to personal lines policyholders for a 30-day period retroactive to Friday, October 26, she added.  Ms. Melchionni’s email is emelch@nyia.org.

 

The ICNJ’s Deana Lykins said that Governor Christie had issued an executive order prohibiting insurers from imposing Sandy-related hurricane deductibles and urging insurers to show forbearance on the issue of policy cancellations or non-renewal notices. The insurance industry’s response to Hurricane Sandy has been hampered because governmental agencies are limiting access to the state’s barrier islands, and gas shortages have adversely impacted the insurance companies’ response, she stated.  Ms. Lykins’ email address is dlykins@icnj.org.

 

Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF)’s 2012 Dinner Chair Hank Watkins, who is also president, Lloyd’s America, briefed the group on some of the charities that will benefit from the fund-raising dinner being held in New York City on Wednesday, December 12.  He encouraged as many people as possible to attend.  Details are in the attached invitation.

 

Ben Tomchik of the American Insurance Association noted that the results of the Tuesday, November 6, 2012 federal election left D.C.’s balance of power unchanged. President Obama, a Democrat, was re-elected to another four-year term, the Democrats retained their U.S. Senate majority, and the Republicans will again control the U.S. House for the next two years. The renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) program will be one of the issues addressed by the next Congress because it expires at year-end 2014. At the state level, the incumbent insurance commissioners were re-elected in Delaware, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota and Washington while Republican Patrick Morrisey defeated longtime West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Darrell McGraw, an outcome that could have repercussions for that state’s insurance industry, Tomchik said.

 

§ The I.I.I. is issuing a news release later this week on: 1) how people can prepare for an adjuster’s visit; and 2) what to expect when the adjuster arrives. The I.I.I. welcomes your input; what tips to this effect are you offering claimants?

§ The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore is giving a live interview tomorrow morning (November 8) on the New York City Fox affiliate’s Good Day New York program and was an in-studio guest on Martha Stewart’s Manhattan-based Sirius radio show on November 6.  She is also on call this weekend for New York City’s ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates who are seeking consumer-focused insurance information.

§ The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters spoke with WOR Radio in New York City on November 6, about the insurance issues raised by Hurricane Sandy and was quoted in this Wednesday, November 7, Sandy-related New York Times Bucks Blog story on renters insurance.  Radio continues to be a very effective way to get information out to policyholders amid continued regional power outages, and the I.I.I. has been pro-actively reaching out to radio stations.

§ The I.I.I.’s Barry briefed the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff Gelles on FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program—what it is, how it works—for a piece set to run in that paper on Sunday, November 11, and focusing on the percentage of New Jersey shore homeowners who are NFIP policyholders. Barry also spoke earlier this week to the Weather Channel’s Atlanta-based hurricane coordinator, Matt Sitkowski. Sitkowski wanted an explanation of what hurricane deductibles are, and how they are triggered.

§ The I.I.I.’s Bill Davis has also been in touch with the Weather Channel’s Bryan Norcross about some of the ways they have been explaining insurance-related issues.

§ Brian O’Connor, personal finance editor at The Detroit News, wants to talk to insurers who sell first-dollar flood  insurance and excess flood policies.  His phone number is 313-418-0335.

§ New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky instructed the state’s insurers on Monday, November 5, to accept documentation from homeowners, including photos and video, of Sandy-related losses so residents could discard debris before a second storm hit the region on Wednesday, November 7. Insurers typically require an on-site inspection first before a claim can be processed, the gubernatorial press release in which the announcement was made noted. In addition, New York State has imposed a 30-day moratorium on cancelling or terminating homeowners and small business owners insurance policies in storm stricken areas for any reason, including non-payment of premiums. If you have any feedback to share on these regulatory decisions, and how they impact you, please contact us.

 

Sandy is still the number one topic being discussed in social media this week with stories about financial damages, claims filing, anger over poor relief efforts and anxiety about future storms the most mentioned topics.

 

A Friday, November 2, Reuters story that appeared online in the Huffington Post, Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: Anger Grows At Recovery Efforts, Especially Outside Manhattan, has been repeatedly re-tweeted and re-blogged and received over 5,000 comments.

 

Another trending topic this week is being careful of crooked contractors and fake charities that take advantage of people after disasters. There is also some buzz about flood insurance, especially the importance of getting flood insurance in the Northeast, given that there have been two hurricane events in recent years.

 

As discussed in Monday’s meeting, Twitter became a crucial communications tool during the storm, and there is an interesting Pew Research Center report on the spike in Twitter usage between October 27 and November 1:  Hurricane Sandy and Twitter.

 

Candy Miller of the Insurance Information Network of California reported that Proposition 33, an auto insurance-related measure financed by Mercury General’s founder, lost by a wide margin. If you have specific questions for Candy, please email her at cmiller@iinc.org.

 

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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