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 16, please email me at michaelb@iii.org.
I.I.I.’s PRESIDENT QUOTED IN WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE ON GROWING FREQUENCY OF U.S. AUTO INSURANCE CLAIMS
The I.I.I.’s Bob Hartwig was quoted in the WSJ story, which was posted on Wednesday, September 9, and appeared in the paper’s Thursday, September 10, print edition (Car-Accident Spike Surprises Insurers).
AUTO INSURANCE RATING FACTORS CRITIQUED IN PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS ARTICLE
The I.I.I.’s Hartwig was also quoted, and a recent Insurance Research Council report cited, in this look at how some states are taking aim at ‘discriminatory’ auto insurance pricing.
NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU (NICB) STUDY SAYS THE NUMBER OF INSURED METAL THEFT CLAIMS IN THE U.S. HAS DECLINED SINCE 2012
Copper is by far thieves’ favorite metal, and Ohio is the state with the most insured metal theft claims, according to this Wednesday, September 9, NICB news release.
STORIES IN THE WORKS
The I.I.I.’s James Lynch spoke with The Allentown (PA) Morning Call’s columnist Paul Muschick about Pennsylvania’s Consumer Alert on the use of marital status when rating auto insurance policyholders.
The I.I.I.’s Jeanne Salvatore is one of Post & Courier business reporter Allison Prang’s sources for an article Prang is writing for the Charleston, South Carolina, newspaper on the sharing economy’s insurance implications (e.g., Airbnb, Uber).
The Wall Street Journal is doing research into the amount of monies U.S. insurers paid out in recent years because of business claims.
CAPITOL HILL
The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule was one of the items on the agenda at a Thursday, September 10, U.S. House subcommittee hearing on Preserving Retirement Security and Investment Choices for All Americans.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board suggested late last week that U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s effort to designate MetLife too big to fail “has made the best argument so far for repeal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law.”
STATES
Alabama
The Mobile Press-Register published an Associated Press story in which meteorologists from Colorado State University and MIT debated whether the Atlantic is entering a new, quieter cycle of storm activity, like the 1970s and 1980s.
John Carlin, the U.S. Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for national security, will be the keynote speaker at the University of Alabama at Huntsville’s cybersecurity summit on Thursday, September 24.
California
Homeowners are facing sharp increases in their insurance rates as insurers become increasingly concerned about wildfire risks, according to a story in today’s Los Angeles Times. The article was pegged to a family whose home survived 2008’s Telegraph Fire.
Since 2012, Sacramento has seen a 12 percent drop in the number of its in-force National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies, the Sacramento Bee found.
Florida
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation approved its rates for 2016, and issued a news release with the details.
Parts of Miami-Dade County flooded in the early afternoon on Labor Day (Monday, September 7) after two inches of rain fell in Coral Gables, Kendall, Pine Crest, and South Miami, according to The Miami Herald.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the central part of the state received nearly 16 inches of rain in August, more than twice the average, and the extreme weather may have led to the creation of an 80-foot-wide sinkhole late last month in Groveland (Lake County).
Louisiana
Because of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the Associated Press says it is unlikely either the Chinese government or its largest state-owned businesses will compensate U.S. homeowners who say their homes were ruined by defective Chinese drywall.
Maryland
A Baltimore panel was due to vote today on the city’s plan to pay $6.4 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Freddie Gray.
New York
Based on a 550-claim sample, about 60 percent of FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Sandy claimants who had their settlements re-evaluated were underpaid by an average of almost $16,000, Newsday reported, on the front page of its Saturday, September 5, print edition.
A judge wants attorneys involved in New York City asbestos litigation to change the way these cases are tried, according to The New York Post. The article notes former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s previous affiliation with an asbestos litigation firm.
Ohio
More miles driven, higher speed limits, and distracted driving are among the reasons cited for the number of collision claims per 100 cars having risen nationally since, 2013, The Columbus Dispatch reports. The article quotes the I.I.I.’s Hartwig.
Oklahoma
Since its formation in 2014, the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission has issued 68 enforcement notices, and proposed fines of $10.8 million. Yet the commission has collected only $534,422, The Oklahoman reported, in its Monday, September 7, print edition.
Pennsylvania
The state’s Insurance Department issued a Consumer Alert: Auto Insurance Widow’s Penalty.
MEDIA MATTERS
The final edition of The Weather Channel’s (TWC) Wake Up With Al program will air on Friday, October 2. Sam Champion is moving to TWC’s prime-time schedule effective Monday, November 2.
Meredith Media General, the company being formed after Media General agreed to buy Meredith Corp. for $2.4 billion, will own 88 television stations.
The Los Angeles Times has a new publisher.
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.
