Declarations

Earthquake Coverage

“For both the safety and financial well-being of Missouri citizens, we must come up with the best ways to insure this potential risk and to prevent losses caused by the effects of an earthquake,”

Missouri Insurance Department Director Doug Ommen said in a written statement laments the fact that the numbers of Missourians purchasing earthquake insurance has significantly dropped. Figures from the state Department of Insurance show that earthquake coverage was carried on fewer than 38 percent of the insurance policies for homes, mobile homes and farms last year. That was down more than 5 percentage points from 2001. During that same time, the average cost of residential earthquake coverage in Missouri rose by 15 percent, according to the department’s figures. In response, Gov. Matt Blunt created a task force to study the availability and affordability of earthquake insurance, especially near the New Madrid fault.

Buckle Up

“Once again, we find strong statistical evidence that seat belts remain the most important protection for the driver. … We found that when a driver used a seat belt, the odds of a fatality dropped nearly 70 percent compared to a driver who did not.”

Kevin Mabe, economist at Farmers Insurance comments on the results of a study he conducted using 2006 fatal crash data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The study concluded that the most influential factor in drivers’ mortality rate in multi-vehicle accidents is the use of a seat belt. The analysis incorporates a logistic econometric model with 41 variables, accounting for factors such as road and traffic conditions at the time of the fatal accident, location and time, accident events, vehicle specifics, driver demographics, and safety features. “Controlling for these additional external factors allows us to more precisely isolate the degree to which safety belts save lives,” Mabe said.

Murder Suspect Denied

“When there’s a change in the status of the case from the Police Department’s standpoint, there’ll be a press release.”

Detective Sgt. Marc Simmons, comments on an unusual murder case in New York state. The case involves a man who remains a suspect in the shooting death of his wife, a killing that attracted national attention because the couple lived near Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The husband is now trying to collect nearly half a million dollars on his wife’s life insurance, court papers show. Peggy Perez-Olivo, 55, suffered a gunshot wound to the head in the Nov. 18, 2006, shooting, which came as she and her husband were driving from Manhattan toward their home three doors down from the Clintons in Chappaqua. Her death was announced two days later. Carlos Perez-Olivo, a 59-year-old disbarred lawyer, was shot in the abdomen during the attack, but told police he was able to drive to a hospital despite his wound. In the lawsuit, the Hartford Life Insurance Co. asks the court to hold the money. It says Peggy Perez-Olivo had two life insurance policies totaling $467,000 and had named her husband as beneficiary but the company said Perez-Olivo “has not been ruled out as a suspect.”