 |  |
| News for property casualty insurers |
| Top Story |  |  |
|
- Florida Keys residents push for lower insurance prices
Residents of the Florida Keys are collecting information to make their case to insurers and catastrophe modelers that the region's property-coverage rates should be lower. State-backed Citizens Property Insurance is the only insurer that offers coverage in the Keys, and residents said they may consider creating a mutual insurer if they fail to lower their rates. "The cost of windstorm [coverage] is higher than people's mortgages. And the deductibles are so high they can replace their roofs twice before seeing money from a claim," Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers says. Insurance Journal
(8/23)      
| Industry News | | |
|
- Commentary: Crash tests have failed to focus on women's safety
Before regulators mandated the use of a female dummy in frontal car-crash tests starting with 2011 model-year vehicles, auto manufacturers had argued against developing such a dummy and stuck to using a male version, writes Lee Jared Vinsel of the Stevens Institute of Technology. The use of a male dummy to represent all drivers "may have had a substantial impact on women's auto safety," Vinsel writes, because a study found that female motorists who buckled up had a 47% greater chance of getting hurt in accidents than did male drivers. Bloomberg
(8/22)
| Catastrophic Risk | | |
|
- N.Y. victims of 2011 storms got $574M in state aid, report says
New York communities that were hit by the remnants of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee last year have received more than $574 million in state assistance to recoup losses, according to a report from New York officials. The Federal Emergency Management Agency incurred about $1.5 billion in costs from the storms, which affected 38 New York counties and prompted 33,000 residents to seek individual federal assistance, the report said. The Wall Street Journal/The Associated Press
(8/23)
- Corps of Engineers: Calif. region's levees don't meet federal standards
The Army Corps of Engineers said levees in Sacramento, Calif., and other parts of the state's Central Valley region are ineligible to receive federal funds for repair because the structures failed to meet maintenance criteria. "We understand this costs money, and money is a fiscal challenge for local governments. Levee safety standards need to be as uncompromising as floodwaters are. That's the rationale behind why we're kind of being hardlined," said Col. William Leady, commander of the Corps of Engineers' Sacramento district. The Sacramento Bee (Calif.) (free registration)
(8/23)
- NYC looks at measures for storm-surge protection
Hurricane Irene heightened New York City's awareness of its vulnerability to storm surge, prompting officials to consider building moveable barriers to protect the city during a hurricane. The city government has pursued flood-mitigation efforts such as adding floodgates at sewage facilities. "There's no one-size-fits-all solution to the risk we face, and it's not just one risk. It is going to be a suite of strategies that encompass everything," said Adam Freed, deputy director of the mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. The Washington Post/The Associated Press
(8/23)
| Policy and Law | | |
|
- Reworked Calif. workers' comp proposal may be part of separate bill
A workers' compensation reform proposal in California has been reworked into a draft bill that may be inserted into a separate bill on workers' compensation liens filed by the chairman of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. The draft proposal aims to secure about $700 million more in permanent disability benefits and $1.4 billion in savings. Insurance Journal
(8/23)
- Mutual insurers face new regulation in Mo.
Mutual insurers in Missouri must have adequate reinsurance to ensure that they don't use more than 20% of their surplus funds in a year under a state regulation that will take effect Jan. 1. A major mutual insurer faced financial difficulty after paying claims caused by a tornado that hit Joplin last year, according to the state Department of Insurance. ClaimsJournal.com/The Associated Press
(8/23)
- Bill would raise premiums for some in crop insurance program
Policyholders in the Federal Crop Insurance Program with income exceeding $750,000 would see a 15% increase in premiums under a Senate bill that would reduce subsidies. The bill contains a provision that would create a means test for payments on crop insurance. Farmers would be forced to seek alternative disaster assistance if crop participation is limited, according to the the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. PropertyCasualty360
(8/23)
| Association News | | |
|
| SmartQuote | | |
|
 | The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate."
--Thomas J. Watson,
American businessman
|
| |
| Advertise |
| Associate Publisher:
Abiy Bekele 212-450-7919
|
|
|
| |
|
Read more at SmartBrief.com |
|
A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including:
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| | Recent PCI SmartBrief Issues:
- Thursday, August 23, 2012
- Wednesday, August 22, 2012
- Tuesday, August 21, 2012
- Monday, August 20, 2012
- Friday, August 17, 2012
| | | Lead Editor: Charles Tomlinson
Sales Account Director: Jasmine Rogers
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
