Declarations

Devastating

“From what I saw today, it was incredible, and we only saw a very small portion today. If you extrapolate that over the entire geographic area that is impacted by Kentucky, it’s a devastating situation for the state.”

—Acting FEMA Director Nancy Ward after visiting western Kentucky and witnessing the damage caused by a fierce winter ice storm.

Long Goodbye

“He was such a tremendous public servant. He was so looking forward to this part of his life … it makes you realize that you’ve got to enjoy every day and live it to the fullest because nobody expected this.”

—North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue remembering Jim Long, who died at age 68 after suffering a stroke and who served 24 years as insurance commissioner retiring in January.

AIG Probe

“They (AIG) are not under the same controls that other organizations that got (government) money are; but under a new bill that has been passed it will be more involved, what they can and can’t do, and we can look back.”

—Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., chairman of the House subcommittee on capital markets and insurance, who said he is concerned that American International Group Inc.’s $150 billion federal bailout could be undermining the U.S. insurance market and he is digging into claims that the insurer is driving down prices to win business. Kanjorski also told Reuters that AIG’s pay practices could come under scrutiny.

Florida Nightmare

“This is a day that we hoped would never come for State Farm. This is the nightmare I’ve been waking up to each day since I assumed this responsibility.”

—Jim Thompson, president of State Farm Florida, which is exiting property markets in Florida, telling the House Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee that the company must stop its financial bleeding to ensure it can pay off future claims.

More Done

“We think there is more that State Farm could do if they wanted to stay in Florida.”

—Deputy Insurance Commissioner Belinda Miller answering legislators’ questions on State Farm’s withdrawal, noting that regulators approved a 52.8 percent rate increase for State Farm two years ago while maintaining that a more recent 47.1 percent request by the insurer was not justified.

Topics Florida AIG