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Insurance Information Institute (III)


Self Description

September 2004: "The mission of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) is to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does and how it works.

For more than 40 years, the I.I.I. has provided definitive insurance information. Today, the I.I.I. is recognized by the media, governments, regulatory organizations, universities and the public as a primary source of information, analysis and referral concerning insurance.

Each year, the I.I.I. works on more than 3,700 news stories, handles more than 6,000 requests for information and answers nearly 50,000 questions from consumers."

http://www.iii.org/media/about/

Third-Party Descriptions

November 2007: "The insurers say they have tried to strike a balance that works for them and their customers. “What insurers have tried to do,” said Robert P. Hartwig, the president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group in New York, “is to sell policies that provide people with coverage for the vast majority of losses they are likely to suffer at an affordable price.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/business/23insure.html

November 2007: Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group, said, “The principal cause of underinsurance is the failure to report improvements to the home to the insurance company, and it’s a common problem.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/us/13uninsure.html

October 2007: The companies say they are obliged to avoid undue risks where they see them, and to remain solvent. “Considering what happened between 2003 and 2005,” said Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, an industry lobbying group, “and considering that the best meteorological minds are telling us that for the next 15 to 20 years hurricane activity will be heavier than normal, if we didn’t do something to reduce our exposure, we’d be out of business.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/nyregion/16insurance.html

October 2006: 'Given where we're at in the global war on terrorism, it's absolutely impossible to really characterize the true nature of the threat environment that we're living in,' says James Valverde, vice president of economics and risk management at the Insurance Information Institute, an industry think tank in New York. 'It's amorphous, ambiguous, and we can't say anything about it with any specificity.'

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1030/p03s02-usec.html

April 2006: 'The fundamental dispute is over the role of government, and whether the government should or should not play a significant role in effectively helping to diversify the catastrophic risks that this country faces,' said Robert P. Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, the research arm of the industry.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/29/AR2006042901364.html

January 2006: This practice has been on the rise since the 1990s, when insurers discovered a strong correlation between low credit scores and filing lots of claims. Now more than 90% of insurers use credit history in their underwriting, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Although consumer advocates argue that it unfairly penalizes the poor, it can also bite the middle class, says Birny Birnbaum, executive director at the Center for Economic Justice. After all, '80% of families in bankruptcy are there because of a job loss, medical catastrophe or divorce,' he says.

http://www.smartmoney.com/10things/index.cfm?story=february2006

June 2005: 9. If your teen is away at college, take him off the auto policy. According to industry professionals, teen drivers add anywhere from 50 percent to 500 percent to a premium. If children are going to school more than 100 miles from home, you can take them off the policy and save a serious chunk of money, according to Loretta Worters, vice president of communications for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry organization. Two caveats: The kids can't drive at school unless they get their own insurance, and if they come home for a break, don't loan them the car.

http://www.bankrate.com/hlink_redirects/hlink_redirects.aspx?link_address=http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/insurance/auto-insure-roundup1.asp&ht=9&suid=10687&web=brm

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Dr. Robert P. Hartwig PhD., CPCU Person May 5, 2007

Articles and Resources

29 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 9]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Jun 10, 2011 Negative Online Data Can Be Challenged, at a Price

QUOTE: The speed at which someone’s reputation can be damaged, even with false information, makes combating defamatory remarks tough....Technology companies are not the only resource for cleaning up a reputation. Security and investigative firms can also help.

 New York Times
May 12, 2010 The Price and Who Pays: Updates From the Gulf

QUOTE: attempts to shut off the flow of oil streaming into the Gulf of Mexico have been unsuccessful and the search continues for a cause and for ways to prevent such blowouts in the future. Questions persist about who will be liable for damage from the spill and the risks to local wildlife.

 New York Times
Sep 05, 2009 New Exotic Investments Emerging on Wall Street

QUOTE: some are dismayed by Wall Street’s quick return to its old ways, chasing profits with complicated new product

 New York Times
Nov 23, 2007 Insurers Shift Cost Burdens to Homeowners

QUOTE: Yet some industry experts and consumer advocates say that efforts by the insurers to increase profits, after years of taking losses on home insurance, are shifting more of the burden of repairs and reconstruction to homeowners. The cutbacks in coverage, consumer advocates say, have contributed to the slow recovery of the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina and will most likely hamper recovery from the recent wildfires in California.

 New York Times
Nov 13, 2007 After Fires, Homeowners Feel an Insurance Pinch

QUOTE: As Californians recover from another season of devastating wildfires, one of the biggest obstacles is a painfully familiar one. As many as 40 percent of homeowners statewide lack enough insurance to cover their home-replacement costs, according to the California Department of Insurance, and most realize the problem only when it is too late.

 New York Times
Oct 23, 2007 The next battle for wildfire victims: Insurance: Consumers could get stiffed on reimbursement for razed homes, and even get dropped by their insurance companies, consumer advocates warn.

QUOTE: Consumer advocates warn that insurance firms could take a hard line with their policyholders in the wake of the wildfire disaster, by skimping on claim payments or going so far as to refuse to write new policies altogether.

 CNN (Cable News Network)
Oct 16, 2007 Home Insurers Canceling in East

QUOTE: In the last three years, more than three million homeowners have received letters like the Grays’ as insurance companies, determined to avoid another $40 billion Katrina bill, have essentially begun to redraw the outline of the eastern United States somewhere west of the Appalachian Trail.

 New York Times
Sep 03, 2007 Insurers Bear Brunt of Anger in New Orleans

QUOTE: Insurance companies may have paid out $11 billion to Louisianians in the two years since Hurricane Katrina, but they have also become a new villain in the tales people tell about the slow recovery here. Every neighborhood is full of horror stories about companies that reneged on their promises, offered only pennies on the dollar in settlements, dribbled out payments, deliberately underestimated the costs of repairs, dropped longtime customers and sharply increased the price of coverage.

 New York Times
Apr 30, 2007 How to protect a home against lock bumping

QUOTE: there's no denying that with millions of American homes relying on the pin-tumbler locks that are so vulnerable -- and with how-to information and tool kits readily available on the Internet -- the potential for exploitation of this weakness is huge.

 Bankrate.com
Feb 09, 2007 Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims

QUOTE: ...after a review of more than 6,000 company documents and court records, interviews with a dozen people nationwide, including former company insiders, and conversations with accident victims, the picture is clear: If you challenge the offer by some insurance companies you will be left with no option but to go to court, where you will be dragged through the wringer.

 CNN (Cable News Network)
Oct 30, 2006 Who should insure against terrorism? Terrorism insurance promotes economic stability. But some disagree on the government's role.

QUOTE: the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) - was temporary. And while the law has been extended once, it will expire at the end of 2007. Now an ideologically charged debate has sparked about whether the federal government should have a permanent role in the terrorism insurance business. The debate comes down to who should provide such insurance: the private marketplace or a public-private partnership?

 Christian Science Monitor
Oct 01, 2006 Unwarranted: In Most Cases, Extended Product Service Plans Don't Benefit Consumers

QUOTE: the cashier asks if you'd like to put another two years on the manufacturer's warranty....While consumer groups and common sense would urge you to resoundingly reject the offer, an entire industry has been built on the likelihood that you will act on impulse and say, "Yes."

 Washington Post
Aug 16, 2006 Judge Rules for Insurers in Katrina

QUOTE: A federal judge in Mississippi sided with home insurance companies yesterday and ruled that they did not have to pay for the flooding that destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Hurricane Katrina.

 New York Times
Aug 04, 2006 Small Clause, Big Problem

QUOTE: insurers have been putting into their home insurance policies “anti-concurrent causation’’ clauses that effectively eliminate coverage that insurers promise to provide when selling their policies...The provision has become one of the central issues in the thousands of lawsuits that have been filed against insurance companies since Hurricane Katrina...

 New York Times
Jul 17, 2006 Homeowners insurance is going to the dogs

QUOTE: Some insurance companies are refusing to write or renew policies for homeowners who own certain breeds of dog. Dog owners are calling it a case of canine profiling.

 Bankrate.com
Jun 13, 2006 10 Things Your Rental Car Company Won't Tell You

QUOTE: In another move to cut corners, rental companies across the board have begun making customers liable for damage caused by so-called acts of God, such as hurricanes and floods.

 Smart Money
May 01, 2006 Remodeling? Make sure you're insured

QUOTE: You might think choosing a contractor and creating a renovation plan are the two most important considerations when it comes to planning a home improvement project. But if you have not considered your insurance needs, and made sure your property is adequately covered during the renovation process, you may be putting your investment in serious risk.

 Bankrate.com
Apr 30, 2006 Insurers Retreat From Coasts: Katrina Losses May Force More Costs on Taxpayers

QUOTE: For taxpayers, a coordinated system to accurately price and insure against the risk of disasters would create true market incentives for homeowners, developers and lenders to buy and build stronger and safer homes, cutting the need for politicians to provide aid after a disaster.

 Washington Post
Mar 26, 2006 Katrina Cars and Rita Rip-Offs: Unidentified Salvaged Vehicles Are a Hazard on the Secondhand Market

QUOTE: storm-fouled cars and trucks...spiffed up and steered back into the commercial used-car market...many more flood cars than usual that have been dried out and shipped across state lines for sale to unwitting consumers.

 Washington Post
Jan 10, 2006 10 Things Your Car Insurer Won't Tell You

QUOTE: ...broker commissions have landed the commercial insurance industry in hot water with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. But auto policyholders may be surprised to learn that some of the same issues afflict the car insurance industry.

 Smart Money

29 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 9]