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 4, please email Michael Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
Florida Citizens renews homeowners policy it had non-renewed weeks earlier, AP reports:
Associated Press West Palm Beach, Florida-based reporter, Brian Skoloff, reported on Friday, October 23, that Citizens Property Insurance Corp. had rescinded its non-renewal of a homeowners insurance policy in Punta Gorda, Florida. The home had been found to have defective Chinese drywall. The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig was quoted in the article. Skoloff is looking to see if Citizens’ move may prompt private-sector insurers to revisit their Chinese drywall non-renewals.
Tampa’s Fox affiliate picks up on AP’s Chinese drywall story:
The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian was interviewed for a Wednesday, October 28, WTVT-TV story on the potential insurance repercussions of Citizens’ non-renewal rescission in Punta Gorda.
Aon Benfield report on homeowners insurance says ‘return on equity is now far less than the increased cost of insurer capital’:
The I.I.I.’s Claire Wilkinson blogged about Aon Benfield’s findings on Tuesday, October 27, while also offering a link to their three-page study. The prospective return on equity (ROE) on homeowners insurance has dropped to 6.1 percent from 6.5 percent over the past year, Aon Benfield found.
Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA) looks at ‘non-residency’ exclusions:
Does it matter whether a house is vacant when an insured loss occurs? That question is at the center of a just-published 29-page paper on homeowners policy exclusions published by the IIABA.
Former AIG CEO is said to be recruiting AIG employees to work for C.V. Starr:
C.V. Starr responded to a Tuesday, October 27, story on the front page of the New York Times by saying they have only hired 13 employees who had previously been with AIG. New York magazine’s online Intelligencer column offered a critique of the Times piece the same day.
CBS’s The Early Show interviews Money magazine reporter on things ‘you shouldn’t say’ when filing a homeowners insurance claim:
Amanda Gengler, a Money reporter, spoke about deductibles, flood exclusions and other ‘insurance lingo’ in a Saturday, October 24, interview. The segment was based in part on a November 2009 Money magazine story. The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore noted that the III believes a call to the author of the article, contesting many of the assertions made in the piece, contributed to a softening of the language used in the TV interview.
New Yorker magazine says California may not want to look to Australia when assessing how to fight severe wildfires:
‘The Inferno’ is the name of the article on the topic in the magazine’s Monday, October 26, 2009, edition.
Canadian radio station, a CNN outlet, interviews I.I.I.’s chief economist on life settlement securitizations:
Dave Rutherford, host of the Rutherford Show, which is carried on CHED-AM, 630 in Calgary, interviewed the I.I.I.’s Steve Weisbart live on Wednesday, October 28, about life settlement transactions and Wall Street’s bid to securitize these policies. The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry said that CHED-AM’s producers volunteered they had contacted I.I.I. only after a Toronto-based rating agency that assesses the creditworthiness of life settlement securities, DRBS, told the station they are ‘tired’ of talking about the issue.
New York Times names new consumer/personal finance reporter:
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore said she is working on a homeowners insurance piece with Jennifer Saranow Schultz (Phone: 646-283-1000, email: jennifer.saranow@gmail.com), who was named recently as the paper’s San Francisco-based consumer and personal finance reporter. The Times is expanding its presence in San Francisco because of the local news void created by the diminished size of the San Francisco Chronicle’s newsroom.
Rick Edelman’s syndicated radio program asking about long-term disability insurance trends:
Kelly Pike (Phone: 703-227-0576, email: kpike@ricedelman.com) contacted the I.I.I., seeking facts and statistics that would help the radio program answer the following question: What are the odds a U.S. worker between the ages of 45 and 65 will file a long-term disability claim?
Federal Office of Insurance (HR 2609) remains with U.S. House Financial Services committee:
The committee was to have held a mark-up session this week on legislation creating a federal office of insurance within the U.S. Treasury Department but appears to have held off on moving the bill out of committee for now.
Citizens’ board approves emergency plan to inspect Florida homes that may have wrongfully received premium credits:
Property insurers in Florida must under state law give homeowners discounts for installing wind mitigation devices. But the program has been a growing source of frustration in the insurance industry because of the potential for abuse and the difficulty of proper monitoring. To investigate the extent of the problem, Citizens plans on inspecting about 500 personal and commercial residential properties, at a cost of $150 per inspection, according to a Sunday, October 25, article in the St. Petersburg Times.
One of Florida’s largest homeowners insurers implementing rate hikes of up to 15 percent:
Universal’s plans were detailed in a Friday, October 23, South Florida Sun-Sentinel story.
Texas insurance commissioner may wait until after March 2010 gubernatorial primary before announcing major decisions:
Commissioner Mike Geeslin, an appointee of Governor Rick Perry, will likely steer the Texas Department of Insurance away from controversy, such as ruling on the State Farm rate case, prior to the GOP gubernatorial primary contest between the governor and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, according to a Sunday, October 25, Austin American-Statesman.
Homeowners in Alabama’s coastal counties offer legislative remedies:
A group of Mobile and Baldwin county homeowners, known as the Alabama Homeowners’ Hurricane Insurance Initiative, is calling for stricter regulation of insurance companies; creation of a new regional insurer to cover coastal properties across several states, and tying coastal rates to those charged throughout Alabama, according to a Saturday, October 24, article in the Mobile Press-Register.
Wisconsin auto rates expected to climb as legislative mandates take effect:
Wisconsin state Senator Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) told Wisconsin Radio Network on Tuesday, October 27, that provisions in the state’s approved state budget, which raised minimum liability coverage amounts and mandated the purchase of uninsured motorist coverage effective November 1, 2009, will increase premium rates for most Wisconsin drivers.
Serena Ng succeeds Liam Pleven on the Wall Street Journal’s insurance beat:
Ms. Ng, who had been writing about credit markets, succeeds Liam Pleven, who has covered property/casualty insurance for the past four years. She can be reached at serena.ng@wsj.com.
Wall Street Journal surpasses USA Today as U.S. paper with highest national circulation:
The news comes amid a 10.6 percent decline in circulation among the top 30 U.S. newspapers for the six months ending in September 2009, according to a Monday, October 26, article in Editor & Publisher.
Fortune magazine reducing to 18 from 25 the number of hard-copy editions it publishes:
Fortune’s parent company said the change will take effect in January 2010.
WABC-TV seeking New York area policyholders who were covered, and satisfied, after filing burst pipes claim:
If you know someone who meets these criteria, WABC-TV may want to interview them for a piece on how a standard homeowners policy covers you in the event your pipes burst because of freezing. Drop me a line at jeannes@iii.org with details, if you have a candidate and I’ll connect them to WABC-TV’s producers.
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.
