Declarations

Limited Options

“In our view, AIG’s options are limited.”

—Atlantic Equities analyst Alan Devlin, citing the giant insurer American International Group’s deteriorating stock price, and a more than tripling in AIG credit spreads since May.

Fake Insurance Is a Real Crime

“While legitimate insurance coverage provides protection for you, your family, and other people injured in a motor vehicle accident, trying to use fake insurance leads only to trouble.”

—The Connecticut Insurance Dept., which says it has seen a rash of counterfeit insurance cards lately. Officials say a faltering economy mixed with the state’s auto insurance requirements has led some to buy a phony card in lieu of an actual policy.

$300 Million And Counting

“Our workers are the most valuable asset in any workplace… ensuring the safety of workers, so they can return home to their loved ones at the end of the day, is the greatest responsibility of every employer.”

—Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, who said businesses have saved more than $300 million by participating in a program that allows workplaces to save 5 percent annually on workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Businesses qualify for the savings if they have a state-certified safety committee in operation. More than 7,800 workplaces have those panels in place, covering more than 1 million employees.

Parental Advice

“Do we really want our kids dependent upon parents for virtually everything until they go to college, can vote and serve their country?”

—Margaret Menotti, a mother in Uxbridge, Mass., opposing a proposal by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry, to raise the legal driving age to 17 or 18. IIHS acknowledged the idea is “a tough sell,” but noted that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.

Industry’s Credit Report

“The next few years will be very challenging for many insurers in terms of turning the page on credit issues and in strengthening balance sheets.”

—Scott Marcello, of KPMG, commenting on a recent survey by the auditor which says the insurance industry as a whole did a poor job understanding its exposure to the credit and sub-prime issues in 2008. In the survey, 40 percent of executives gave the industry a grade of ‘D’ or ‘F,’ while only 19 percent assigned a grade on ‘B’ or better. Forty-one percent assigned a grade of ‘C.’ Ironically, in the 2007 KPMG survey, 72 percent of executives indicated that they were confident their companies had a firm grasp on their exposure to the sub-prime market and related risks.