SYNOPSIS ALL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE CALL October 26, 2011

To recap the issues raised during Wednesday’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, November 2, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.

 

The latest developments on Hurricane Rina, which has since been downgraded to a tropical depression, can be found at the National Weather Services’ National Hurricane Center website.

 

The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore was interviewed by USA Today personal finance writer Sandra Block about flood insurance (who should buy it?; why do so few property owners have this type of coverage?) for an upcoming story that will likely focus on the post-Hurricane Irene flooding in Vermont.  Ms. Reed Abelson of The New York Times (email: abelson@nytimes) is in the earliest stages of reporting a prospective story on how medical providers often overcharge insurers for services rendered.

 

The I.I.I.’s Salvatore is quoted in this Saturday, October 22, Washington Post story, which focused on trends in Maryland and Virginia.

Both sessions will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a hearing notice issued by Maryland’s insurance commissioner on Friday, October 21..

The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters is quoted in this article, which was posted on Tuesday, October 25.

The garbage covers an area equal to twice the size of Texas, according to one person interviewed for this Monday, October 24, segment. Hawaii may be impacted in 2012, and the West Coast of the U.S. could see the remnants of the March 2011 quake and tsunami by 2013, the story reports.

The Monday, October 24, Thomas Frank article closely tracks the information contained in a Monday, October 3, I.I.I. news release about how the federal government made more disaster declarations through the first nine months of 2011 than in any full-year dating back to the early 1950s.

The New York Times, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin all-news radio station and Kiplinger’s were among the media outlets that cited the I.I.I. when talking about the insurance repercussions of the German space satellite ROSAT’s re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere; A Tulsa (OK) World columnist pegged an entire story to the I.I.I.’s  news release on the risks involved in Halloween.

The mainstream media largely ignored FIO director Michael McRaith’s Tuesday, October 25, remarks to a U.S. House subcommittee.  Prior to the hearing, the I.I.I. issued a media advisory to call reporters’ attention to the I.I.I.’s Issues Update paper on regulation modernization.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel explained the pros and cons of allowing surplus lines insurers to expand their operations in Florida in the Friday, October 21, article.

 

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund’s (FHCF) ability to borrow money in the event a major hurricane were to strike the Sunshine State has been severely diminished, and legislative action is needed to put the FHCF’s finances on a more solid footing, the WSJ’s editorial page argued, in this Tuesday, October 25, piece (subscription required).

FEMA chief Craig Fugate, National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read, and The Weather Channel’s Rick Knabb were among the guest speakers scheduled to address FLASH.

 

Commissioner Jim Donelon won another four-year term to his current post on Saturday, October 22, securing re-election with 67 percent of the statewide vote.

This online A.M. Best article from Friday, October 21, (subscription required) also noted that Alfa, the second largest homeowners insurer in the state in terms of market share, won regulatory approval for premium rate hikes which average 20 percent, effective September 1, 2011.  The company is expected to pay out claims totaling $475 million from the April 2011 tornadoes in Alabama, the article notes.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press had a big story on the subject on Wednesday, October 26; the news peg centered on Cleveland, Tennessee’s recovery from the April 2011 tornadoes.

Commissioner Kipper had most recently been working as the chief executive officer of Louisiana’s health insurance office for state employees and retirees. The state issued this Monday, October 24, news release with the details about Kipper’s return to Nevada.

Moynihan, a former managing editor for Editor & Publisher magazine, succeeds Susanne Sclafane, who is now with Advisen.

Rose told The New York Times on Monday, October 24, that he is trying to work out an arrangement whereby he can appear on CBS while retaining his PBS and Bloomberg TV positions.

–The risk of falling objects was a popular insurance topic in the social media space at the end of last week.  Blogs by insurance agents, financial advisers and even NASA were reporting on the insurance coverage implications of the ROSAT satellite hitting homes or vehicles.  The I.I.I.’s media advisory from Friday, October 21, was quoted on many of these blogs.

 

–Another topic that is growing in popularity on Twitter is insurance coverage for any potential “tricks” that might occur on Halloween.  The I.I.I.’s press release on this topic is being tweeted on, and is also appearing on insurance agent consumer advice blogs.  

 

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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