Declarations – Midwest

Cover the Dog

“We believe that policyholders will benefit from having an independent agent review their insurance coverages to ensure they have adequate protection against the alarming increase in lawsuits over bites by family dogs.”

—Mark Desrochers, president of The Hanover’s personal lines business. Dog bite claims accounted for over one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars in 2011. The cost of dog bite claims rose 53.4 percent from 2003 to 2011, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The Hanover recommends checking to see if the breed the insured is planning to add to the household can be covered.

Law of the Land

“It’s going to be the law of the land. We can’t just bury our heads in the sand and pretend it’s not happening.”

—South Dakota House Leader Bernie Hunhoff, D-Yankton, says Gov. Dennis Daugaard and other South Dakota officials should accept that the federal healthcare overhaul will be implemented. Gov. Daugaard, a Republican, said South Dakota will not set up its own health insurance exchange, instead deferring to the federal government to operate and pay for it. Hunhoff said he doesn’t know if a state-run exchange would be better but he believes a federal exchange may not take into account issues important in South Dakota.

It’s Complicated

“My takeaway is that O’Hare — despite improvements over the years — still has a lot of older features that can create incidents. … It is still a highly complicated airport.”

—Chicago-based transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman comments on a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report on two near midair collisions at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport that raises questions about air-traffic control safety. The report highlights concerns about the configuration of a control tower and two intersecting runways. Schwieterman said he hadn’t seen the preliminary report, but said air-traffic controllers over the years have expressed concern about some design features at O’Hare.