Declarations

Universal health plans
“We must commit ourselves to the goal that all Kansans will have health insurance, and we must begin now.”

Kansas Gov. Sebelius comments in her “state of the state” address on her goal for all Kansas residents to have health insurance. But universal health coverage doesn’t appear to be a part of any common ground, with Republicans saying they’d rather focus on making sure workers can take health insurance with them when they change jobs. One lawmaker said while a call for universal coverage sounds bold, it’s difficult to achieve. Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, said “this isn’t Canada and it isn’t California.” Another official, Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, added: “I’ll be amazed when I see someone run the numbers and it’s not $1 billion or $2 billion or $5 billion to get that done.” But Democratic Gov. Sebelius told legislators that the concept enjoys bipartisan political support and widespread support among Kansans. Source: AP

Global climate change
“We cannot risk being in denial on catastrophe trends … Insurers must address global climate change as they cope with the growing cost of extreme natural disasters.”

Lord Peter Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s, in a speech to the World Affairs Council at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., warned insurance CEOs about the need for a radical rethink of public policy, and to build these facts into future planning. Levene said the number of natural catastrophes has doubled since the 1960s. At the same time, insured losses have increased nearly seven-fold, most of them weather-related. The worst year on record came in 2005 with total global insurance claims of $83 billion — over 80 percent from U.S. hurricanes. Over the coming years, with warmer sea surface temperatures making landfall more likely, particularly destructive storms are a likely scenario. Source: AP

State Farm rebuttal
“We believe that the ruling is inconsistent with the insurance contract and Mississippi law.”

In a directed verdict, U.S. District Court Judge L.T. Senter in Broussard v. State Farm ruled that the homeowners needed to only prove a direct physical loss. He ordered State Farm to pay $223,000 in actual damages for the home and belongings of Biloxi couple Norman and Genevieve Broussard, before turning the case back to the jury to decide on the punitive damages. State Farm and others in the insurance industry expressed surprise and concern over the ruling. Kim Brunner, general counsel for State Farm said that testimony of expert witnesses showed that damage to the Broussard home was overwhelmingly caused by water and not wind. Source: State Farm