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, September 24, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
TROPICAL STORM ODILE BRINGS HEAVY RAIN TO THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. AFTER MAKING LANDFALL AS A HURRICANE IN MEXICO
Odile struck Mexico as a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday, September 14, and this weather system is contributing to heavy rainfall in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
EARTHQUAKES IN COLORADO, NEW MEXICO WERE LIKELY CAUSED BY INJECTING WASTEWATER INTO THE GROUND, STUDY FINDS
The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America published a study to this effect, and its findings were featured in this Tuesday, September 16, Wall Street Journal print article.
DETROIT, NEW YORK AND MIAMI ARE THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES IN WHICH TO INSURE A CAR, WEBSITE SURVEY FINDS
USA Today posted this Cars.com summary of BankRate.com’s ‘Top 25 cities for highest auto insurance rates.’
NEW YORK TIMES PROFILES ENGINEER WHO LAUNCHED COMPANY AIMED AT COMBATING DISTRACTED DRIVING
Katasi has developed a system that blocks drivers from receiving either texts or phone calls while behind the wheel, according to The New York Times.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig spoke with New York City-based National Public Radio (NPR) Planet Money producer Jacob Goldstein for a piece on the history of the homeowners policy.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore and Steven Weisbart discussed CoreLogic’s latest look at the U.S. states most vulnerable to natural disasters with Bloomberg Businessweek’s Alyssa Abkowitz.
The I.I.I.’s Salvatore spoke with Mike Kelley, who writes a consumer blog for Alabama-based AL.com, about teen driving and texting.
The I.I.I.’s Loretta Worters was interviewed by Susan Johnston of USNews.com about the insurance needs of inter-generational households.
The I.I.I.’s Mike Barry discussed with St. Louis’s CBS affiliate a story they are preparing about the non-renewal of a homeowners policy on a solar-powered residence.
CAPITOL HILL
The U.S. House approved legislation to provide the U.S. Federal Reserve with the flexibility it needs to write capital rules and regulate systematically important insurance companies.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was criticized at a U.S. Senate hearing for being too slow to recognize a deadly defect in certain General Motors cars.
Effective Monday, October 6, hydrocodone combination drugs are being reclassified as a Schedule II, rather than a Schedule III, controlled substance, the federal government announced.
California’s U.S. Senators want the U.S. Senate’s Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee to hold a hearing on the 2013 Earthquake Insurance Affordability Act.
STATES
California
The Boles Fire (Siskiyou County) began on Monday, September 15, prompting mandatory evacuations in Weed, where at least 100 structures were either damaged or destroyed.
The King Fire (El Dorado County) is moving toward 1,600-plus homes east of Sacramento, with many residents under mandatory evacuation orders in and around Pollock Pines.
The Courtney Fire (Madera County) has destroyed more than 30 homes near Bass Lake, and has burned over 300 acres. The blaze was 50 percent contained as of Tuesday, September 16.
The Department of Insurance issued a news release saying those forced from their homes may be able to access the additional living expenses portion of their homeowners policy.
Connecticut
The Northeast Risk & Resilience Leadership Forum is being held on Wednesday, October 8, at the Stamford Marriott. The registration deadline is Friday, September 26.
Florida
Weiss Ratings gave the state’s smaller property insurers a median grade of C-minus, even though most of them have not experienced a major storm, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Hawaii
The president has signed a Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance, allowing federal monies to be used for public facilities’ repair and replacement after last month’s Tropical Storm Iselle.
Louisiana
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is seeking an average commercial rate hike of 2.3 percent, effective February 2015, according to The Baton Rouge Advocate.
Massachusetts
The federal government seems unlikely to declare April 2013’s Boston marathon bombings an act of terrorism for insurance claims, this Boston Globe article states.
Mississippi
Starting with renewals after October 1, the wind pool will base the deductible business and government policyholders pay on their property’s total value, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports.
The state’s coastal exposure to hurricanes makes it the 18th riskiest U.S. state in which to reside, according to this Biloxi Sun Herald article, pegged to the aforementioned CoreLogic study.
New York
David Yassky, a former New York City Taxi and Limousine Commissioner, is working as a consultant for Lyft.
Oregon
The 36 Pit Fire (Clackamas County) started on Saturday, September 13, and has burned nearly 2,400 acres, prompting concern among residents of Estacada.
Texas
Austin’s City Council will consider two transportation network company (TNC) related resolutions on Thursday, September 25, according to this agenda (see item #’s 81 and 82).
Uber and Lyft can operate in Austin so long as they are brought “into a public, transparent accountable system with strict public safety standards,” Councilman Chris Riley says.
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is offering $500 million in unrated municipal debt to bolster TWIA’s finances, Bloomberg reports.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
With Hurricane Odile slamming the Eastern Pacific and Hurricane Edouard forming in the Atlantic, it has been a very busy week in social. Besides the standard news/media coverage, insurance agents are taking to social to remind policyholders to not only update their homeowners insurance policy but also to purchase flood insurance.
In the wake of cybersecurity breaches at Home Depot and Google, a number of insurance agencies have been using the incidents to promote their cybersecurity classes. Some consumers have also been posting content about identity (ID) theft, and asking for advice on how to handle the situation if their ID were to be stolen.
Finally, multiple California wildfires continue to burn. The Boles Fire, which began earlier this week, has destroyed over 150 structures in the small logging town of Weed, California. USA Today posted an article detailing the state’s recent wildfires.
MEDIA MATTERS
A Gallup Poll found only 40 percent of Americans had confidence in the media’s ability to report “the news fully, accurately, and fairly,” matching a previous all-time low.
Nielsen released its 2014-2015 ranking of the U.S.’s largest Designated Market Areas (DMAs), with New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago the first three cities on the list, in that order.
Digital First Media, owner of 70-plus newspapers in 15 states, including The San Jose Mercury News, the Denver Post, and the New Haven Register, may be selling these publications.
Parade Magazine is about to be sold, according to The New York Post.
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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