Declarations

Hotel liability

“We are not persuaded that these requirements show enough control to shift responsibility for safety to Choice. These few requirements regarding hotel doors do not show that Choice had the right to control both the means and the ends of security at the Comfort Inn.”

Mississippi Appeals Judge Tyree Irving writing for the Court of Appeals in holding that Choice Hotels International (Comfort Inn) cannot be held responsible for the death of a Texas man, who was murdered when two men burst into his motel room.

Florida choice

“If you’ve been one of these homeowners that’s been real responsible and you’ve hardened your home, why shouldn’t you get a reduction on your rate, just like you would on your auto coverage?”

Florida’s Gov.-elect Charlie Crist on giving homeowners the choice of accepting higher deductibles or not including windstorm in their coverage, which are among the recommendations to be considered during a special legislative session on Jan. 14.

State Farm first

“Who knows what we’ll find? I really don’t want to be presumptuous either way.”

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale in revealing that State Farm Insurance Co. will be the first of several major insurers to be investigated by his office over their handling of policyholders’ claims after Hurricane Katrina.

Nationwide appeal

“Nationwide largely prevailed on the significant issues at trial. What we’re doing is basically asking the appellate court to reconsider certain technical, legal portions of the ruling. And we expect the Leonards may do likewise.”

Nationwide Insurance spokesman Joe Case explaining why his company is returning to court over the landmark decision in the first trial to challenge insurers for refusing to cover billions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge. The case was brought on behalf of policyholders Paul and Julie Leonard of Pascagoula. Case said the company isn’t challenging the monetary award or any of the judge’s major conclusions.

New ethics disclosure

“The nature of the new interrogatory tracks the oft-repeated statement that the insurer’s ‘tone at the top’ is finally the determinant of whether business is done ethically and financial reporting honestly. No one argues with that.”

William Boyd, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, reacting to a new requirement for insurers filing the National Association of Insurance Commissoners’ annual statement. Senior managers will be subject to a new interrogatory on existence and applicability of codes of ethics. The new interrogatory would first be required with quarterly statements for the first quarter.