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PIA National's Federal Legislative Summit — be there!
Every year in the spring, PIA members converge on Washington, D.C., and reconnect
Main Street with Capitol Hill. It's called the PIA Federal Legislative Summit. This year,
the convergence is March 26-27.
Here's a link to give you more information: www.pianet.com/grassroots/pia-federallegislative-
summit.
The annual 14th Annual PIA Federal Legislative Summit will have you advocating
on a host of issue ranging from flood insurance and healthcare to insurance regulation.
A briefing the day before includes these issues and overviews of TRIA renewal and crop
insurance, as well as other priority issues for Congress.
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PIA National working for you: Crop insurance
The Senate overwhelming approved the farm bill on
Feb. 4. Three days later,
President Barack Obama signed the nearly $1 trillion
measure into law in a barn on the campus of Michigan
State University.
Passage of the farm bill caps years of controversy.
PIA National responds to FIO congressional hearing
Federal Insurance Office Director Michael McRaith
faced skepticism when he appeared on Feb. 4 before
the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. His
appearance was to discuss the FIO's much-delayed report on
regulatory modernization and hints that the federal
government needs more of a role in insurance regulation.
| Industry News from PIA Western Alliance |
Auto insurers and marriage definition
Insurers think married people are better drivers.
Traditionally married people are given hundreds
of dollars in savings a year by auto insurers. As you may know, the definition of marriage is
changing in the U.S. and gay rights activists and
some federal agencies are examining how
insurers define marriage. The question is why married, heterosexual couples get
discounts that gay couples do not? Taking it a step farther, some heterosexual couples
that aren't married are asking the same question.
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
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A new Deductible Reimbursement Insurance is now available to all residents of the Western Region (except Alaska). Licensed insurance agents may now sign up on the ZeroDeductible website and offer deductible reimbursement insurance to their clients directly for their auto, home and boat policies.
Click here to learn more!
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Obamacare from a nonhealth insurance insurance perspective
Travelers put out a white paper on the impact of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on
insurance other than health. It is titled the "ACA and
its Potential Impact on the P&C Industry." The bottom line in the report is that insurers
will see an increase in medical care costs for auto
accident patients, an increase in health insurer
subrogation liens and the potential of delays in
treatment for work comp claims.
Flood insurance reform reforms: The House will move
The controversy surrounding the Biggert-Waters National
Flood Insurance Program flood insurance rate raising
reforms continues. Some say the rate hikes harm poorer
homeowners in some areas. That problem got the U.S.
Senate to delay the increases for four-years via the
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (S.
1926).
Small business: 2014 will be better
Insperity is a human resources and business
performance consulting firm. The company recently
published its 2014 Business Confidence Survey.
Here's how small business looks at 2014.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
Insurers: A lot of Obamacare enrollees aren't paying
Insurers continue to worry — as does the
Obama administration — whether enough
people will enroll in the insurance
exchanges to make the Affordable Care Act
viable. The administration says enough
people are enrolling.
Maybe.
2013 costly disasters
As most of you know, catastrophe payouts in 2013 for
insurers were high but not as high as usual.
Insurance Information Institute President Dr.
Robert Hartwig is an economist. He recently went
through the 2013 catastrophe figures from CoreLogic
and came to some conclusions. Here's a breakout of the biggest payouts of 2013.
D&O lawsuits on failed financial institutions up
Cornerstone Research has released a report
with a nice long name, such as many of these types of
reports possess. The report's title is
"Characteristics of FDIC Lawsuits against
Directors and Officers of Failed Financial
Institutions — February 2014." The D&O suits involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and failed
financial institutions hit 40 in 2013. That compares to 26 in 2012. The 54 percent increase is
scary but most involve the failure of institutions in 2009 and 2010. There were 140
failures in 2009 and 157 in 2010.
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December insurance jobs revision
Insurance finished 2013 with mixed job growth
results. Dr. Robert Hartwig — who heads up the
Insurance Information Institute — goes
through the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of
Labor Statistics every month. He said December's
stats have gone through a recalibration.
The changes look good — and bad.
AIG: Profits, cost-cutting
AIG had a pretty good 2013. It paid off the U.S.
government bailout and in the fourth quarter of the year
posted a profit. The profit led to a dividend for
shareholders. Net income for AIG in quarter four of 2013 was $1.98
billion. That's $1.34 per share. AIG CEO Robert
Benmosche says compare that to 2012. In the fourth
quarter that year AIG lost $3.96 billion.
The workforce: Participation lowest in 40 years
A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia said the participation rate of the labor
force has hit a 40-year low. The reason for the low is twofold:
Those that are older and at retirement age or
close to it have quit working, and second,
discouraged workers have stopped looking for work.
Are smartphones productive tools or distractive devices?
By C. Fredrick Crum
 Many businesses provide leaders with smartphones or reimburse employees for their use of their private phones for business use so that productivity is increased. I have always wondered if this practice actually increased productivity or if having the world at your fingertips was a distraction. A group of researchers at Kent State University seems to have provided an answer in a study that has gained international attention.
Step aside, millennials — Here comes Generation Z
By Greg Witz
Born from the late 1990s to now, Generation Z is the current generation, and its oldest members are starting to enter the workforce. They are known as "digital natives," and we joke that the "Z" stands for zombies as they are rarely away from their devices. More importantly, they are researching and interacting with our companies long before they will ever buy our products, so being proactive in understanding them is crucial for our companies' future success. Now is the time to be proactive in preparing our organizations for Gen Zers.
Around the PIA Western Alliance States
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PIA Weekly Industry News
Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469.420.2601
Download media kit
Rebecca Eberhardt, Content Editor, 469.420.2608
Contribute news
Gary Wolcott, Writer for PIA Western Alliance, 503.724.9028
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Recent issues
Feb. 12, 2014
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