Declarations

Insurance emergency

“During this state of emergency, I want to ensure that our farming communities avoid the red tape and get paid quickly so they can get back to the business of farming”

— California Commissioner Steve Poizner, on proclaiming an insurance emergency to allow out-of-state claims adjusters to assist California’s agricultural community process claims quickly. Much of the states’ agricultural economy was destroyed in January after temperatures dipped below freezing five days.

Better building codes

“The better education and building code requirements that could come as a result of this report and the task force’s efforts will help to decrease claims in the future, and thus costs to contractors and consumers.”

— Professional Insurance Agents of Oregon, commenting on Oregon’s Construction Claims Task Force report that made 11 recommendations designed to help protect homeowners from construction defects and improve the liability insurance climate for contractors.

No government help

“I would have to believe that very few people think their regular insurance program covers flood. You’d have to be living under a rock to still think that. People in the past … thought the government would come in and bail them out, and now they’re realizing that the government won’t do that.”

— Ted Kinney, who directs training programs for the Alabama Independent Agents Association, commenting on the increase in sales of federal flood policies in 2006. The Federal Emergency Management Agency believes Katrina helped to boost flood insurance sales dramatically last year.

Benefits of brokers

“We’re seeing more and more specialization by carriers and it makes it even more and more difficult for retailers to figure out how to place the business. It makes the role of the wholesale broker extremely important.”

— Andrew Rosen, partner with HM Capital Partners, commenting on the importance of wholesale brokers in the industry. He said they have the expertise and access to markets that retail clients need.

Age and gender before beauty

“It is reasonably well known that age and gender have an effect on the likelihood of an accident, but the influence that age and gender have on driver injuries once an accident has occurred is not well understood.”

— Fred Mannering, professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, commenting on a study that showed fatalities rose by 7 percent for drivers age 75 and older, remained steady for drivers ages 65 to 74, and dropped for younger drivers. Mannering said safety research and policy now must begin to address gender and age-related matters because there are compelling differences.