SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL October 17, 2012

If there is a subject you would like to see addressed on Wednesday, October 24, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.

 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the epicenter of the quake was about three miles west of Hollis Center, Maine and struck on Tuesday, October 16, at 7:12 p.m.

California has done this previously but the Great Southeast ShakeOut was the first simultaneous earthquake drill to be held in Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Washington, D.C.  To encourage participation, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell proclaimed October 18, 2012 Earthquake ShakeOut Day and cited the state’s August 2011 temblor.

 

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported in its Friday, October 12, print edition that insurers are criticizing a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) plan that would require them to set aside more capital to back insurer investments in bonds linked to residential mortgages.

The I.I.I’s Jeanne Salvatore gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Ensign on what prospective homeowners insurance policyholders need to know when assessing the amount of coverage they should purchase. The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry spoke with The Express-Times’ Jeff Sistrunk about the cost-effectiveness of buying a renters insurance policy.

 

The paper concluded (subscription required) that Katrina-sized hurricanes are twice as likely to form off the southeast coast of the United States in hotter years than they are in colder years.

The American Insurance Association (AIA) issued on Wednesday, October 17, the following statement on the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) report on Global Systemically Important Insurers (G-SII): Proposed Policy Measures.

The NBC affiliate in Phoenix aired a segment on a Tuesday morning, October 16, news program based largely on a Friday, October 5, news release regarding the insurance needs of unrelated roommates living under the same roof.

 

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation dismissed the four employees in its Office of Corporate Integrity unit on Friday, October 12, a “curious move for a state-run company that has seen a 52 percent increase in internal complaints and is being investigated for lavish executive spending and other corporate improprieties,” according to this Tuesday, October 16, Tampa Bay Times article.

 

Kathleen Haughney and Doreen Hemlock are writing insurance-related stories for The South Florida Sun-Sentinel in the wake of Julie Patel’s departure from that publication.

A 40-plus acre wildfire erupted on Wednesday, October 17, near the same Santa Barbara neighborhood where a 1990 blaze killed one person and burned about 550 homes. By the next day, firefighters had completely contained this week’s wildfire without any damage to either life or property, according to the Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Times summarized Proposition 33, the state’s auto insurance-related ballot initiative, in a Saturday, October 13, article.

 

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation received 17,059 Hurricane Isaac-related claims as of mid-October 2012; with 97 percent of the damaged properties having been inspected and 85 percent of the claims settled. Citizens’ Isaac payments have so far totaled $57.8 million and its ultimate payout and loss adjustment expenses could be more than $75 million, according to this Monday, October 15,  New Orleans City Business story.

Coastal Retrofit Mississippi, a division of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, reports that 1,664 homeowners who want to fortify their homes against hurricane damage and, as a result, possibly lower their insurance rates, have filed applications with the agency for grants, according to this Saturday, October 13, Biloxi Sun Herald story.

 

Since the call, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune published its in-depth look at the rising cost of homeowners insurance in Minnesota. The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig, the Consumer Federation of America’s Robert Hunter and United Policyholders’ Amy Bach are among those quoted in the article, which appeared on Sunday, October 21.

 

The North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) held a public comment session on Wednesday, October 17, in Raleigh on the North Carolina Rate Bureau’s proposed homeowners insurance premium rate increases. The NCDOI issued this news release on the next day. 

 

The Delaware Department of Insurance postponed until Tuesday, November 20, a public hearing the state agency was originally going to hold in Wilmington on Friday, November 2, on the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau’s (DCRB) filing for a requested increase in workers compensation rates. 

 

The I.I.I.’s Salvatore heard from Univision after the New York Post published a Monday, October 16, story about an auto insurer seeking more than $6,000 from the estate of a 70-year-old woman who was fatally struck by an auto on a Westbury, New York, road in April 2012. The insurer has since dropped its collection effort, the Post reports.

The I.I.I.’s Thursday, October 11, news release on the Six Financial Strategies to Help Victims of Domestic Abuse, received a lot of attention on Twitter and Facebook from insurance agents and organizations that provide resources for women. This release reviews valuable financial information for victims of abuse and is reaching an audience outside the I.I.I.’s typical insurance-related groups.

 

A popular blog post that started on InsureMe.com about how to navigate the issue of homeowners insurance deductibles is being reposted to a number insurance blogs. The post quotes the I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters and online reader reactions have been mostly positive. Some were thankful for the breakdown of the math, and others appreciated the tips on how to save money. The InsureMe.com piece, “The new face of home insurance deductibles,” parallels another blog post about how to get the most from a homeowners insurance policy, which quotes the I.I.I. and is getting good circulation from real estate blogs. 

NBC Universal’s Weather Channel laid off about 7 percent of its staff this week in a restructuring, with most of the personnel reductions occurring at the channel’s Atlanta office.

 

Melissa Francis, host of a Fox Business Network program that airs on weekdays at 5 p.m., ET,  and a former child actress, is releasing a memoir, Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter, on Tuesday, November 6.

 

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.