Declarations

Declarations

In service to their country

“It is important that members of the Armed Services who enlist in, or return from, active duty are not penalized by their insurance companies for the period of time in which they have put themselves in harm’s way for the service of our country. … I expect that underwriting or rating requirements related to occupancy will be waived for members of our Armed Services if the insured is deployed outside of this State due to military service.”

— Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman, in a statement reminding insurers that the Arkansas Insurance Department will interpret a cancellation or refusal to underwrite property insurance for the dwelling of an insured in the armed services due to a lack of occupancy as a violation of paragraph 6 of the department’s Directive 1A-2004 if the insured is deployed outside of Arkansas due to military service.

Tyranny of incremental decisions

“Over the 50-year period of time (that the levees were being built), there was a tyranny of incremental decisions at all levels — not just by the federal government, but by local and state officials, too — and over a period of time, those incremental decisions led to the loss of a vision of the project as a system.”

— Tom Waters, chief of planning and policy for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A report released by the Corps on June 11, says there was no single decision made involving the New Orleans hurricane-protection levee system that shaped its failure to defend the area from flooding resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Source: AP

Not just sitting around

“People who are uninsured in Arkansas by and large are employed. … They’re not people sitting around there, wishing somebody would give them money and health insurance, they are out there working one or two or three jobs and can’t get insurance for any of them or can’t afford the insurance that’s available for them.”

— John Selig, director of the state’s Department of Human Services, announcing a plan underwritten by state and federal government that would provide employees of small businesses in Arkansas with access to health insurance. It is estimated that as many as 50,000 Arkansans could benefit from the program. Source: AP

Highly interested

“The United States remains highly interested in the progress of this particular case and intends to remain heavily involved in its development.”

— Comments by U.S. Attorney David Dugas and Assistant Attorney General Keisler in a memo to U.S. District Judge Peter Beer. Beer had directed Dugas’ office to intervene in a whistleblowers’ lawsuit that accuses insurance companies of overbilling the federal government for flood damage in Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina. Dugas office declined. On June 9 Beer withdrew his ruling saying he now believes Dugas’ office has “shown cause for its current position in this litigation.” The lawsuit accuses insurers of misrepresenting claims to the National Flood Insurance Program, a charge the companies have repeatedly denied. Source: AP