Quotations
No worries until 2008
“I didn’t think there was a chance in the world we would come out with something meaningful, I thought it would be just another band-aid approach, but we didn’t. For that I do congratulate the leadership.”
– Texas State Representative Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, referring to the tax reform bill passed by the Texas Legislature in a special session in Spring 2006. Eiland made the comment during a speech at the annual conference and trade show held by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas in June. Eiland said the way lawmakers structured the bill, which features a new franchise tax on businesses, was “genius,” since companies won’t feel the full effect of the bill until 2008, well after the fall 2006 elections.
Not that much help
“We gave pay raises for everybody and their brother down here this time. We’ve taken care of everybody we can. But we haven’t done anything to help the policyholders of this state.”
– Louisiana State Sen. Robert Adley, D-Benton, who said the state could and should help lower the insurance bills for its citizens. The legislature adjourned without addressing rising insurance costs.
Source: Associated Press.
Friends in need
“In Oklahoma, we believe in helping one another in our greatest time of need; and I am so pleased by the generosity of so many people and organizations partnering together to help some of our state’s neediest families begin rebuilding not only their homes – but their lives.”
– Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Holland, commenting on the outpouring of support for Oklahoma wildfire victims, including a $108,000 check from country recording artist Blake Shelton.
Source: Associated Press
How much?
“I can’t tell you how much of it is sold here and neither can the people who buy it … one of the conditions of getting a policy is you can’t tell anybody you have it.”
– Ed O’Brien, vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association of Louisiana, referring to the Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission’s approval of petitions by two insurance companies to offer kidnappings, ransom, extortion and hijacking coverage. New Hampshire Insurance Co. and National Union Fire Insurance of Pittsburgh were given permission to offer the coverage in Louisiana.
Source: Associated Press
Need more insurance
“Reliable estimates reveal that 50-70 percent of Texas residents do not have enough insurance to rebuild their home to its current condition. Many people have faced this tragic situation in Texas and found the experience to be heart wrenching.”
– Jerry Johns of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, commenting on a Hurricane Readiness Index survey on how well prepared U.S. coastal residents are for recovering from a major hurricane.
Breathtaking fraud
“The blatant fraud, the audacity of the schemes, the scale of the waste —it is just breathtaking.”
– U.S. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reacting to reports of $2 billion in fraud and waste associated with federal relief efforts in the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Source: The New York Times