Declarations
Furious pace
“Despite the well-known vulnerability to hurricanes and rapidly escalating property values, coastal development in vulnerable areas continues at a furious pace. Adding billions of dollars in new insured exposure will further burden Florida’s already precarious property insurance market.”
Robert Hartwig, Ph.D., president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute, who testified April 11 before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on the effect of coastal over-development on insurance rates. He said construction of new high-rise developments on vulnerable barrier islands will continue to exacerbate Florida’s insurance crisis.
Russian roulette
“We should not be playing Russian roulette. Briny Breezes’ vulnerable, barrier-island home sits in the middle of hurricane alley, and it’s a question of when, not if, this area will be hit by a storm. In the current market environment, I am not aware of a single private insurer who would agree to take on more than $3 billion in new risk to cover a high-density, high rise development on the shifting sands of a South Florida barrier island.”
Former Congressman Tom Evans, chairman of the Florida Coalition for Preservation.
Tenn. hen house
“Here you have the organization that represents the people who regularly make a living suing doctors, and now they want you to believe they are the watchdogs on behalf of these doctors. That is a little bit like the fox guarding the hen house.”
David Sousa, Medical Mutual Co. of North Carolina’s general counsel, after North Carolina’s trial lawyers association accused the medical malpractice insurer of violating state law by charging doctors excessive rates.
Every opportunity
“Independent agents continue to hold their own in terms of market share despite unprecedented advertising campaigns from direct writers. The independent agent distribution model is viable, flexible and entrepreneurial. Opportunity exists for independent agents and brokers in every market and in every product line.”
Big “I” CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt on release of the latest market share report showing independent agents more than holding their own.
Political climate
“This is coming. And I know there is no great political constituency for it, but we can avert these disasters for not very much money if they can be put into the public debate and people understand clearly what’s going to happen.”
Former President Bill Clinton, speaking at a forum sponsored by Harvard University on why governments fail to plan for disasters like hurricanes, heat waves and obesity. He said they fail to act even when disasters are anticipated because leaders are distracted by fulfilling campaign promises and scrambling to respond to immediate emergencies.