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, October 1, please email Mike Barry at michaelb@iii.org.
INSURANCE INDUSTRY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION’S (IICF) 8TH ANNUAL NORTHEAST BENEFIT DINNER TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 10, 2014
The attached document offers details on the New York City event. Anthony Kuczinski, president and CEO of Munich Re America, will be the IICF’s honoree.
NPR PLANET MONEY PODCAST EXPLORES THE ORIGINS OF WHAT’S COVERED, WHAT’S NOT, IN A STANDARD HOMEOWNERS POLICY
A State Farm agent and a University of Minnesota law school professor were among those who appeared on-air during this 16-plus minute National Public Radio (NPR) story.
JD POWER SURVEY FINDS HOMEOWNER AND RENTERS INSURERS RECEIVE HIGHER MARKS FROM THEIR OLDER POLICYHOLDERS
Policyholders between the ages of 20 and 37 are more critical of their homeowners and renters insurance experiences than any other generational group, according to a J.D. Power study.
CONNING STUDY SAYS MUTUAL INSURERS DEVELOP THEIR FINANCIAL STRENGTH BY FOCUSING ON POLICYHOLDER SERVICE, RELATIONSHIPS
Property-Casualty Mutuals: Resilient and Staying Relevant assessed the sector through a survey of executives, interviews with independent agents and comparisons to stock companies.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig was interviewed by Greg Jones of WorkCompCentral for a story on why the California’s workers compensation insurance market has such high costs.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore spoke with Bloomberg about whether a home or renters policy could be tapped after a bicyclist’s fatal New York City encounter with a pedestrian.
CAPITOL HILL
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) released this week its second annual report on the insurance industry.
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm has been appointed to a two-year term as the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) state regulatory representative.
Should the Republicans win a U.S. Senate majority, there could be a push for more changes to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), according to The Hill.
STATES
California
The King Fire (El Dorado County) has burned more than 93,000 acres, and is 38 percent contained. Thousands of firefighters are working at the scene.
Effective July 2015, transportation network company (TNC) drivers must have “specially designed ride-sharing policies or company-provided commercial coverage, or a combination of both.”
Starting in 2016, home insurers must annually send their policyholders marketing materials that explains the role played by the California Earthquake Authority, the Associated Press reports.
Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1273, allowing more drivers to purchase Low-Cost Automobile Insurance Program (CLCA) policies effective January 1, 2015.
Florida
Effective July 1, 2015, the state’s property insurers will no longer have to levy a 1 percent Citizens assessment, a legacy of the 2004-2005 hurricanes.
Nearly 30 percent of Palm Beach County policyholders who leave Citizens end up returning, according to this Wednesday, September 24, Palm Beach Post print story.
Kentucky
Governor Steve Beshear has asked the president to issue a major disaster declaration for the August 19-23 flooding in four eastern counties (Floyd, Knott, Johnson, and Pike).
Louisiana
The state is the third most at-risk to natural disasters, after Florida and Rhode Island, according to this Times-Picayune article, which is pegged to a recent CoreLogic study.
A Louisiana State University study (see last item) will explore “actual and perceived coastal flood risks due to river management strategies,” the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
Michigan
The state’s Transportation Department believes Uber falls under its limousine law, and Uber drivers should carry a minimum of $1 million in commercial vehicle coverage.
Mississippi
Homes in Gulfport and Bay St. Louis were recognized for being built with “design features proven to withstand natural disasters,” according to this article in the Biloxi Sun Herald.
New Mexico
Hurricane Odile-caused flash flooding is being blamed for a Friday, September 19, fatality in the southeastern part of the state, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
New York
The state’s life insurers have until Wednesday, October 1, to respond to Department of Financial Services inquiries about their sales of indexed universal life insurance policies.
North Carolina
Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin was asked at a public appearance in Wilmington about next month’s public hearing on homeowners rates rising upwards of 25 percent.
Oregon
Insurance Commissioner Laura Cali issued an advisory last Friday urging consumers to consider their insurance needs before participating in the “sharing economy.”
Pennsylvania
Physician-dispensed prescriptions grew to 29 percent from 17 percent of the statewide total between 2008 and 2012, according to the Worker’s Compensation Insurance Research Institute.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced the arrests this week of 27 individuals for a variety of unrelated insurance fraud crimes.
South Carolina
The 25th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo was September 21, 2014, and this Raycom News Network film shows archival footage of the damage Hugo caused.
The state’s Insurance Director and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) president co-authored a Hugo-related editorial in Myrtle Beach’s The Sun News.
Vermont
FEMA has denied the state’s request for a federal disaster declaration after a July 28, 2014, storm caused damage to public infrastructure in Windham and Windsor counties.
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
Climate change was a popular topic in social this week, starting with the People’s Climate March in New York City on Sunday, September 21. March participants tweeted their thoughts and posted photos under the hashtag #PeoplesMarch. The next day, Monday, September 22, protesters flooded Wall Street, in lower Manhattan, to bring awareness to climate change. You can find reactions, pictures, and information about this demonstration under the hashtag #FloodWallStreet.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, September 23, more than 100 world leaders gathered at the United Nations in mid-town Manhattan for the U.N. Climate Summit. Several heads of state explained what their countries are doing to combat climate change. Mashable posted a map showing what each country has promised to do. The map has been shared more than 7,500 times.
In I.I.I. news, our press release on renters insurance has been doing well in social. Since Monday, it has been re-tweeted over 10 times and clicked on 60 times. The news peg: even though renters insurance is relatively inexpensive, only 37 percent of U.S. renters have this type of coverage, according to the I.I.I.’s most recent polling on the issue.
MEDIA MATTERS
The News Sorority, a Vanity Fair contributor’s book, chronicles the TV careers of Christiane Amanpour, Katie Couric, and Diane Sawyer. It goes on sale on Tuesday, September 30.
The Washington Post’s newsroom has added more than 100 people since January 1, 2014, bringing that number up to 650—that is still down from its height of 1,000-plus employees.
The median age of CNN’s primetime audience has fallen to 59, the first time it was below 60 since 2008, partly because of CNN’s focus on original documentary programs.
Five months after its launch, The Los Angeles Register has ceased publication.
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.
