Declarations

Unfunded Mandates

“Bear in mind, all of these regulatory efforts must be funded — at the expense of the states and at the expense of Main Street insurance agents.”

—Kenneth R. Auerbach, president-elect of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, commenting on a recent string of legislative proposals that would federalize insurance company charters and industry regulation.

He’s Pleased

“We had hoped to take as many as 35,000 policies out in the first year, and I think we’re going to beat that, so I’m pretty pleased.”

—John Wortman, chief executive of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-sponsored insurer of last resort, which has begun turning over policies to private insurers. The company is expected shrink to around its pre-Hurricane Katrina size after some 30,000 homeowner policies are transferred. The state is planning another round of bidding for private companies to apply to take over Citizens’ policies.

An Abundance of Claims

“Even though individual claims are not very large — on average they were $1,000 to $5,000 — there were just so many of them.”

—Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland comments on the recent report from the Department of Insurance that the cost of damage to Oklahoma homes, businesses and infrastructure from the December 2007 ice storm is approaching $180 million.

One-on-One

“I am happy to be able to have one-on-one conversations with the Arkansas Insurance Department’s constituency. … I know this year’s recent tornadoes and storms have raised questions for many insurance consumers, and I plan to address how to prepare for such catastrophes and what to do after an event.”

—Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman, discussing her plans to travel around the state to speak with consumers, as well as insurance producers, on a “Commissioner’s Road Show” in mid-May. Bowman planned to hold question and answer sessions in Springdale, Harrison, Conway, Jonesboro and El Dorado May 12-16.

Ballooning With Pride

“I’m just glad to finally do something useful through ballooning.”

—Dave Knoblock, a hot-air balloon pilot from Montgomery, Ala., one of three pilots to participate in a University of Alabama research program in which balloonists dropped payloads of scrap lumber and wooden shutters to help researchers analyze the radar signatures caused by tornado and hurricane debris.