Declarations

Forests and Fires

“Our forest health policies need an overhaul. … In the short term, we need to address regulations that hamper timber salvage in the burnt areas. In the long term, we need to enter into public-private partnerships in order to improve the health of these forests by thinning them.”

—Congressman Jeff Flake, a Republican who represents Arizona’s 6th district, commenting on the major wildfires that have plagued Arizona and New Mexico. Fires have been burning since May and have destroyed more than 100 structures. (AP)

Citigroup’s Cyber Breach

“Citigroup needs to take this recent breach more seriously than they have. … We still think the breach is quite serious.”

—Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, criticizing Citibgroup for its identity theft protection efforts following a cyber breach in which more than 360,000 credit card accounts were exposed. The company sent letters to affected customers with advice on protecting themselves, but did not offer to buy or give affected customers a year of preventive credit file monitoring services. (Reuters)

Deteriorating Results

“With mounting net losses on underwriting driving the decline in insurers’ net income and overall profitability in first-quarter 2011, there’s no denying that insurers continued to face substantial headwinds in their core business – underwriting. While there were some positive developments that bode well, there have also been some negative developments that suggest insurers’ results will get worse.”

—Michael R. Murray, ISO’s assistant vice president for financial analysis. Data shows private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes dropped to $7.8 billion in first-quarter 2011 from $8.9 billion in first-quarter 2010, with overall profitability decreasing.