To recap the issues raised during this week’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, November 11, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
HURRICANE PATRICIA HITS MEXICO; ALSO FELT IN TEXAS AND LOUISIANA
Hurricane Patricia developed into the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, and made landfall in Mexico on Friday, October 23. The storm’s aftermath brought heavy rains to southern Texas and Louisiana over the weekend of October 24-25.
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON COMPENSATION INSURANCE (NCCI) NAMES NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO
William E. Donnell will assume NCCI’s top post on Monday, December 7. He is currently president of U.S. property/casualty reinsurance at Swiss Re America Holding Corp. in Armonk, New York. Donnell succeeds Stephen J. Klingel.
U.S. MOTORCYCLE THEFTS DROPPED 6 PERCENT IN 2014, THE NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU (NICB) REPORTS
The NICB’s findings are detailed in this Wednesday, October 28, news release.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig is speaking later this week with Bloomberg BNA reporter Stephen Joyce about the I.I.I.’s just-released cyber risk white paper.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore is working with Emma Schwartz, a Washington, D.C.-based producer for PBS’s Frontline, in advance of a spring 2016 program Frontline is preparing on U.S. flooding trends.
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore gave interviews to TheStreet.com’s Bill Richards (renters insurance), Buildium’s Barbara Ballinger (insured winter disasters), and PNC Bank’s Marcia Layton Turner (business interruption coverage) for an article Turner is writing for the bank’s small business owners website.
The I.I.I.’s Michael Barry discussed with the Associated Press’ Amy Taxin the life/health insurance issues raised by California’s Assembly Bill 215, also known as the End of Life Option Act. Governor Jerry Brown signed the measure into law this month.
The Wall Street Journal’s Philadelphia-based Adam Bonislawsky (email: bonislaw@gmail.com), who writes The Spread Sheet column, wants to do a piece on the frequency and types of insurance claims typically tied to Thanksgiving Day dinner cooking mishaps.
CAPITOL HILL
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) has proposed the Flood Insurance Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015.
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 74 to 21.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) says prizes awarded to agents for selling annuities amount to “kickbacks” that “create conflicts of interest,” according to a Wall Street Journal article.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is meeting in open session at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 2, A.M. Best reports (subscription required).
STATES
California
The Butte and Valley Fires may have caused upwards of $1.75 billion in insured losses, according to a report released by Guy Carpenter & Company.
Californians are being encouraged to purchase a FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy because the strongest El Nino conditions in nearly 20 years are already underway in the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) raised serious questions about a study undertaken at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. It concluded there is a 99.9 percent chance of a major earthquake striking the Los Angeles metropolitan area within the next three years.
Florida
FEMA’s NFIP has seen its policy count nationwide drop 9.6 percent since 2009, according to the I.I.I.’s Hartwig, whose remarks to the Florida Chamber of Commerce were covered by The Palm Beach Post.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said the 67 Florida-based property insurers tested by the state have enough of a financial cushion to handle claims, even if multiple hurricanes were to make landfall in Florida.
Louisiana
Insurance Commissioner James Donelon was re-elected to another four-year term on Saturday, October 24.
Days before the election, Commissioner Donelon slammed the Jindal administration’s decision to allow the Office of Motor Vehicles to send out 1.2 million letters to drivers whose auto insurance lapsed.
Missouri
The family of a 34-year-old woman who died in 2011 after undergoing heart surgery is challenging in the state’s Supreme Court a Missouri law that placed caps on non-economic damages.
New York
Anthony Albanese, the acting superintendent of the state’s Department of Financial Services (DFS), said he will leave DFS for a position in the private sector by the end of the year.
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig was quoted in a Newsday (subscription required) story today (October 28) on a Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report which found FEMA paid $250 million in Sandy aid to homeowners who had other sources of recovery monies.
South Carolina
The Associated Press reports many residents are under emergency orders either to repair or replace flood-damaged dams deemed unsafe by inspectors. Those legally responsible for the dams—mainly homeowner associations and individual families—face potential fines if they don't comply.
Texas
The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian was quoted in a Houston Chronicle article (subscription required) on how the 2015 spring flooding in Texas flooding rivaled 2005’s Hurricane Rita as an insurance event.
MEDIA MATTERS
In an acquisition valued at more than $2 billion, International Business Machines (IBM) is nearing a deal to acquire the digital and data assets of Weather Co., owner of The Weather Channel (TWC). The transaction would not involve TWC’s television business.
Fox Business Network (FBN) drew an average of 102,000 viewers to its day-time programs this month, FBN’s best-ever day-time ratings performance.
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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