Declarations

Declarations

A balancing act

“The legislation we are supporting this session is intended to balance the need to create a competitive regulatory environment while ensuring that our citizens are afforded adequate consumer protections and benefit from personal investments that strengthen their property. Increased competition in our insurance market will increase availability and affordability.”

— Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. Blanco, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and various business groups announced a legislative package of five bills designed to help heal the property insurance market in Louisiana.

Dispelling concerns

“We want to dispel any concern that Travelers policyholders might have that participating in an SBA loan would jeopardize their right to purse their claim, because it does not.”

—Jennifer Wislocki, a spokeswoman for Travelers Insurance. The company said it was dropping a claim in Louisiana that getting Small Business Administration loans cancels policyholders’ right to sue if they feel their insurance payments are too low. State Farm Insurance Co. indicated it may do the same in the homeowners line, according to the Associated Press. Travelers is Louisiana’s largest commercial property insurer and State Farm is the state’s largest residential insurer.

A full and fair opportunity

“The anecdotal evidence we have amassed to date strongly suggests that women and minority-owned law firms are underrepresented on many insurance companies’ panel counsel lists.”

—Yolanda Coly, associate director of Milwaukee, Wis.-based National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. The group has launched a new initiative designed to enhance opportunities for minority and women-owned law firms to compete for legal work from insurance companies throughout the U.S. Coly said the association aims to help “minority and women-owned law firms in obtaining a full and fair opportunity to compete for assignments from America’s insurance companies.”

No rebuilt wrecks, please

“The total-loss history of a vehicle is the most important piece of information that consumers can use to make an educated assessment as to the safety and fair market value of a used car. … With total-loss data, used car buyers — consumers and dealers — can avoid unknowingly purchasing a rebuilt wreck.”

—David Regan, vice president of Legislative Affairs for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), in testimony before the U.S. Senate. NADA wants to bring more transparency to the used-car buying process by requiring insurance companies to provide consumers access to data on severely damaged, stolen and flooded vehicles. The association wants U.S. lawmakers to pass S. 545, by Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss, which would permanently red-flag totaled vehicles.