Declarations

Article

PG&E Probation

“In these five years, PG&E has gone on a crime spree and will emerge from probation as a continuing menace to California.”

— U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the utility poised to emerge from five years of criminal probation remains too dangerous to trust after years of devastation from wildfires ignited by its outdated equipment and neglectful management.

Onward and Upward

“Without these increases we would have to have substantial amounts of capital.”

— Bryron Wells, co-CEO of Southern Fidelity Insurance Co., speaking at a Florida rate hearing in which the company requested property insurance rate hikes of 85% for homeowners’ policies and 111% for dwelling fire policies.

Unequal Settlements

“At the end of the day, none of this is fair.”

— Former University of Michigan football player Jon Vaughn told the Associated Press that the per-victim payout from the school’s settlement over a sexual abuse case involving a former athletic doctor should be much higher. Vaughn is one of more than 1,000 former Michigan students who stand to receive as much as $500,000 from the $490 million settlement. Victims of Larry Nassar, who sexually assaulted gymnasts at Michigan State University, averaged $1.2 million in payouts. Vaughn and fellow Michigan victims say race is a deciding factor in the smaller payouts.

Unexpected Visitors

“We are amping up our aggressiveness to utilize a tool that’s in our toolbox that … has been there for quite some time.”

— Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will oversee aseries of enforcement actions to address air pollution, unsafe drinking water and other problems afflicting minority communities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The agency will conduct unannounced inspections of chemical plants, refineries and other industrial sites suspected of polluting air and water and causing health problems to nearby residents. The Gulf Coast region contains several hotspots where cancer risks are far above national levels.

Unfair Practices

“With this bill, we are trying to give consumers the protection they deserve from the unfair business practices of insurance companies.”

— Senate Judiciary Chair Nicholas Scutari said after the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy. The new law gives motorists who are injured in car accidents the right to file civil lawsuits against auto insurers, without first waiting for the state insurance regulator to act. The law establishes a private cause of action for motorists against insurers for “unreasonably” denying or delaying claims for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits.

Climate Crisis

“As extreme weather has become more frequent, the climate crisis has already increased insurance payments and premium subsidies. These costs are expected to go up even more, as climate change causes even more unpredictable weather conditions.”

— The Environmental Working Group (EWG) stated last month in an analysis of federal data of insurance payments to U.S. farmers for crops lost to droughts and flooding. Losses have risen more than threefold over the past 25 years, according to an analysis. The report reinforces concerns that insuring the nation’s crops will get more expensive for insurance companies, farmers and taxpayers as climate change drives more erratic weather events that disrupt agriculture.