Declarations

Portable Insurance

“This type of insurance has been available without regulation for some time.”

—Idaho Department of Insurance Director Bill Deal said the department will begin licensing businesses to sell portable electronics insurance to cover the repair or replacement of portable electronic devices such as cell phones and tablets and their accessories starting July 1.

Ways to Do Business

“I can’t see (insurance companies such as) State Farm, or an Allstate, or Farmers doing business this way. … For one thing, they would be out of business.”

—Texas state Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, chairman of the House insurance committee, comments after David Durden, a lawyer with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, said during a committee meeting that TWIA paid claims for damaged property based on the owner’s estimate.

Improving Business Climate

“The Michigan Future Business Index surveys continue to show increasing evidence that Michigan’s business climate is improving.”

—Mike Britt, president of Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America, which sponsors the Michigan Future Business Index survey of small and midsize business leaders. Business owners said in the latest survey that their businesses have grown over the past six months and they plan to make further investments in their workforce.

Flood Plan After Sandy

“Hurricane Sandy made it all too clear that, no matter how far we’ve come, we still face real, immediate threats.”

—New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has called for a $20 billion system of flood barriers to protect the city’s low-lying areas. The Bloomberg administration made 250 recommendations, including installing bulkheads and dune systems on beach areas and bolstering building codes.

No Weigh In for Take-Out

“Our office does not weigh in for or against any Citizens take-out action. Instead, we expect the experts at Citizens and the Office of Insurance Regulation to act in the best interest of Citizens policyholders and the taxpayers that support the company.”

—Adam Hollingsworth, chief of staff for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, insists that no one in the Scott administration took a position before Citizens Property Insurance Corp. approved a transaction in which the state-backed insurer would pay $52 million to Heritage Property Insurance and Casualty to absorb 60,000 policies in a transaction known as a “take-out.”

Topics Michigan