Declarations

Political Pressure

“I’m the first to acknowledge that it is time for us to contract and there is political pressure for us to contract.”

—Carlos Lacasa, chairman of Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and a former state legislator from Miami.

No Choice

“People in the Tampa Bay area would love to have a choice, they don’t have one. Our governor and a few others in Tallahassee don’t get it.”

—Florida Republican state Sen. Mike Fasano arguing that proposed changes to Citizens Property Insurance would not shrink the size of the insurer because private insurers don’t want to cover people in places like Tampa Bay where the majority of sinkhole claims have been.

Harassment Pay

“Sexual harassment in the workplace is so universally despised that people require some extra compensation for exposure to a sexually harassing environment.”

—Vanderbilt University economist Joni Hersch who calculated measures of sexual harassment risks at work by industry, age group and sex. In addition to finding that female workers are six times more likely to experience sexual harassment, Hersch also found that firms must pay workers more for exposure to the risk of sexual harassment.

Southeast Survivor

“I held my wife closely in the closet and I prayed. I said, ‘Oh my God, this is it. I’m going to be buried in the debris. We’re going to die.'”

—Henry Taylor, who lives near Rock Hill, South Carolina, after he saw a funnel cloud out his window. At least six people were killed and dozens more injured as a storm that spawned several tornadoes moved across the Southeast last month.

M&A Activity

“Over the past 18 months, acquirers have increased their focus on small to midsize specialty, niche businesses that can be easily integrated into larger platforms. Insurance operations offering access to unique market segments, specialized products or a combination of both have been the most attractive targets.”

—Christopher Ezbiansky, head of M&A Advisory – Americas, GC Securities, commenting on mergers and acquisitions activity for the property/casualty insurance industry during the third quarter of 2011. There were 16 transactions announced, including Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s intention to acquire Harleysville Group.