Declarations

Startling Results

“We wanted to know what these insurance agents see for 2008, and the results were more than a little startling.”

—Joe Wheeler, vice president of Self Insured Solutions (SIS), commenting on a survey his company conducted with California business insurance agents. The survey showed that fewer than half of respondents see California’s business economy improving — either for themselves or for their clients — in 2008. More than three quarters of these agents expect workers’ comp rates to rise significantly later in 2008 — and 77 percent see the state government as a significant contributor to this problem.

Getting Rid of Unscrupulous Characters

“I am pleased that we could take these unscrupulous characters out of the post-disaster marketplace.”

—California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announcing an agreement reached with Paramount Disaster Recovery Inc., under which the company will pay a $200,000 penalty, reimburse the State of California $75,000 for litigation costs, and refrain from operating as unlicensed insurance claims adjusters in the state. Paramount Disaster Recovery is based in Palos Verdes, Calif.

Penned up Water Got Away

“If you’ve penned up an animal and the animal escaped and hurt someone, it’s usually your responsibility. … In this case, the district penned up water and it got away from them.”

—Jeffrey Stempel, a law professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, comments on class-action lawsuits that seek unspecified damages from the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District in Nevada. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of victims of an early January flood in Fernley that resulted from the breach of an irrigation canal levee. Two class action lawsuits allege that the irrigation district did not properly maintain the canal and failed to minimize damage once the breach occurred in the fast-growing town 30 miles east of Reno.

Good News for Physicians

“This is certainly good news for the physician community and the overall effort to control health care costs. … It also shows that premiums can be contained without sacrificing the rights of patients.”

—Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announcing that Washington’s largest writer of medical malpractice coverage for physicians and surgeons is lowering premiums for 2008 by 12.5 percent. The action by Seattle-based Physicians Insurance, which provides coverage for approximately 62 percent of the physicians in Washington who purchase medical malpractice insurance from a regulated insurer, will result in premium reductions of up to 20 percent for physicians with good claims experience.

Topics California Washington