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A message from PIA National President Richard Clements
PIA National President Richard Clements is a lifelong resident of Louisiana. He says when you live in a state below sea level community becomes critical. When you consider the state is a hurricane magnet, the truth rings loud. In his inaugural address, Clements said catastrophes cement bonds and storms, like Hurricane Katrina, make neighbors in Lousiana — well — more neighborly.
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Around the PIA Western Alliance States
| Industry News from PIA Western Alliance |
PIA National's Ted Besesparis on TRIA and Congressional foot-dragging
PIA National Senior Vice President Ted Besesparis wrote an article for National Underwriter about the need to get the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act renewed — long term — by the end of 2014. Not getting the job done, he said, is bad for the insurance industry and for businesses large and small.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates: Extend TRIA now
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said not extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act or letting it lapse on Dec. 31 would be a "huge mistake."
Gates — who served as defense secretary under President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush — addressed the annual meeting of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
Obamacare's Cadillac tax: The controversy heats up
Starting in 2018 the Affordable Care Act — or Obamacare as it is best known — assesses a 40 percent excise tax on group health care premiums that exceed $10,200 for single coverage and $27,500 for family coverage.
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Uninsured still unsure about how Obamacare works
Open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act's state exchanges and federal exchange HealthCare.gov begins in a couple of weeks on Nov. 15. A Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation survey says the uninsured are still confused about the enrollment date start and about what financial assistance is available to them.
Flood premiums: A change in the works?
The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators are proposing new rules to require flood insurance premiums paid by property owners to be automatically set aside in escrow accounts. This — if enacted — will ensure property owners in flood-prone areas stay current on their flood insurance bills.
The industry reacts to Washington's insurance commissioner's climate change criticism
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is in hot water with insurance associations and some insurers over criticism aimed at them over their stance on climate change. Kreidler heads the National Association of Commissioners' Climate Change and Global Warming Working Group. He worked on a recent report issued by Ceres that was critical of insurers not taking climate change more "seriously." It concluded insurers have "a profound lack of preparedness in addressing climate-related risks and opportunities."
Cybersecurity and small business
We just slipped into November. What most of you don't know is October was Cyber Security Awareness month. It was created by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security in October 2004. We hear a lot about the JPMorgan Chases, the Targets and Home Depots and their data breaches and cyberhacking woes. What we don't hear much about are the smaller firms that also are getting attacked.
Oregon's controversial experimental mileage tax plan
Oregon is about to become the first state in the nation to charge a by the mile tax for use of the state's roads. The purpose of the experiment is to see how this works compared to the gas tax charged at the pumps.
It starts in July.
New credit cards: A cyberattack solution?
New credit cards may be in the mail to you soon or as soon as your credit and debit card issuer starts ramping up a new — what some hope will be — cyberhacking-proof program. The cards are based in Europay, MasterCard and Visa technology.
You may know it by the name chip and pin.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
Washington's Kreidler takes on insurers on climate change
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kriedler just stepped into the middle of a mine field. He's taken on the insurance industry and other state insurance commissioners about global warming.
Benmosche and AIG's turnaround — a new book?
Now former AIG CEO and AIG savior Robert Benmosche has shed the Superman cape and is writing a book about how he turned the company around. The book is published by St. Martin's Press and will be released in late 2015 or early 2016.
Commercial insurance rates: The 3rd quarter and beyond
The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers took a look at the insurance rates for the third quarter of 2014 and concluded they "barely moved."
Here's what the Council's Commercial P/C Market Index Survey found.
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Bicycle fatalities grow: The reasons why
Auto fatalities remained even in the U.S. during 2012. Those dying on bicycles increased. The jump in deaths skyrocketed 16 percent and auto deaths jumped just 1 percent, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association's Spotlight on Highway Safety: Bicyclist Safety.
Update: Cover Oregon's Oracle lawsuit
Oracle is being sued by Oregon over the failed Cover Oregon website. The company's CEO Safra Catz sent a letter to Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek.
She's asking them to cut the funding for the lawsuit filed by Gov. John Kitzhaber and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
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PIA Weekly Industry News
Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469.420.2601
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