Declarations

Severe Impact

“There’s a lot of scrap metal in the trees and fence lines, a lot of insulation, lumber. … The path of the tornado was several miles long and impacted a number of different areas where there were houses. Even though it’s not a densely populated area, there were places where there were several houses together impacted.”

—Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, after surveying damage from storms and a tornado that hit his state in early January, killing one person and destroying homes and farm buildings. Beebe visited Appleton in Pope County and Jerusalem in nearby Conway County. AP

Still Suffering

“Many Oklahomans across the state are still suffering from the aftermath of the ice storm that left more than 640,000 homes and businesses without power, many for more than a week.”

—Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, commenting on damage to his state from a massive ice storm that hit Dec. 8 — 10, 2007. A total of 29 people died due to the storm and hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged. Henry has asked the federal government for individual assistance to residents of Oklahoma and Tulsa counties who suffered uninsured damage. If approved, individuals would be eligible for government help with housing repairs or temporary housing, low-interest government loans for individuals and businesses to repair or replace damaged property, disaster unemployment assistance and grants for various needs and disaster expenses not met by other programs.

Blatant Disregard

“In view of Allstate’s ongoing, blatant disregard of our subpoenas, I have little choice but to take an action that will send a clear message about how seriously I am taking this issue.”

—Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, upon abruptly halting a scheduled two-day hearing into the Allstate Companies’ reinsurance program, and their relationships with risk modeling companies, insurance rating organizations and insurance trade associations. McCarty subsequently suspended Allstate’s certificate of authority to write new business in Florida until the company complies with subpoenas served it on Oct. 16 by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Allstate appealed the suspension to a state appeals court, which granted a stay from McCarty’s order to cease writing new business.

Did They Happen or Not?

“It’s like Enron and WorldCom never happened.”

—Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at Consumer Federation of America, following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that protects businesses from securities-fraud lawsuits. The ruling was handed down in a suit by Stoneridge Investment Partners against Motorola Inc. and Scientific-Atlanta Inc. The ruling follows a decision late last year by regulators allowing companies to deny shareholders access to annual director-election ballots, and comes amid share dilution and dividend cuts at big banks hobbled by the mortgage crisis, CFA said.

Topics Florida