GOV. WANTS HURRICANE REPORT:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has directed state Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw to assess Texas' ability to handle large-scale evacuations in the event of a catastrophic hurricane, the governor's office announced. Perry expressed particular concern about the ability to quickly evacuate major population centers in the coastal areas of Beaumont-Port Arthur, Houston-Galveston, Corpus Christi and Brownsville-Harlingen. The assessment will include a review of existing evacuation routes, traffic control plans and intergovernmental coordination needed to manage such evacuations. It also will include a review of the state's role in coordinating state resources needed at the local level. Perry directed McCraw to gather input from local community leaders along the coastal area of the state and from Texas legislators, as well as officials in Florida, as part of his assessment. He told legislators he would make recommendations based on the assessment and would share results of the study with them. The report is due by Feb. 15.
LDI SAYS IVAN COSTS NEARLY $7.2M:
Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Robert Wooley announced that the Louisiana Department of Insurance's first estimate of Hurricane Ivan damage in Louisiana is $7,170,000.00, based on a survey of the major insurance carriers in the state. Wooley added that this estimate is based on the industry's best guess as to what they will ultimately pay in claims due to Ivan. Following are the expected industry losses in Louisiana broken down by type of insurance: Homeowners - 2,820 claims or $5.92 million; Private passenger automobile - 430 claims or $344,000; Commercial auto - 20 claims or $76,000; Commercial property - 420 claims or $588,000; and Federal flood - 30 claims or $240,000. Wooley noted that the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens), operator of the state's high risk property insurance pools (the FAIR and Coastal Plans), had the greatest share of these losses, around $3.1 million. He added that while some coastal residents unfortunately suffered significant property damage as a result of Ivan, the state as a whole was fortunate to have been spared a direct hit. Ivan is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damages in the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coastal regions.
TDI SEES IMPROVED LOSS RATIOS:
The Texas Department of Insurance reported that second quarter 2004 financial results submitted to TDI indicate a number of Texas homeowners insurance providers are improving their loss ratios—a result of efforts to increase underwriting efficiency and accuracy, and a quiet storm season during the early part of the year. The average loss ratio for homeowners insurance companies for the first two quarters of 2004 is 38 percent. TDI said the second quarter reports show improving conditions, but are only part of the picture and can not be used to set or determine rates. The reports do not include additional expenses, such as agent commissions and companies' operating expenses, or the provisions for the inevitable catastrophe and natural disasters such as tornadoes, hail storms and hurricanes. These additional expenses typically add about 45 to 50 percent to an insurer's cost of doing business. TDI said the improved market conditions in Texas this year represent a dramatic change from the experience of insurers in recent years when many faced huge losses from severe weather and water-claims resulting from a perceived mold crisis. While these second quarter financial reports do not tell the complete story, they do indicate that TDI's efforts to set rates according to fair rating standards were reasonable and accurate.
AG SUES ID THEFT PROTECTION CO.:
The Oklahoma attorney general's office filed a lawsuit against an Arizona telemarketing company after the company allegedly offered Oklahoma consumers a bogus identity theft protection service, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said. The lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma County District Court, accuses Consumer Benefits Group Inc. (CBG) of violating the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, the Commercial Telephone Solicitation Act and the Oklahoma Telemarketer Restriction Act. The attorney general's office filed the suit after receiving complaints from two consumers. "Telemarketers for CBG were referring to themselves as 'head agent' and 'inspector,'" Edmondson said. "The caller then informed the consumer that they had been placed on a list of consumers targeted for identity theft or that the consumer's credit card information had been given to a third party without the consumer's permission." According to the state's complaint, the telemarketer then offered to provide the consumer with identity theft prevention services for a $299 fee. In addition to civil penalties and court costs, the attorney general's office is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction barring CBG from conducting future business in Oklahoma. The state also asked the court to issue a temporary injunction against CBG to prevent the company from doing business while legal action is pending. Each alleged violation potentially carries a $10,000 civil penalty.
TWCC OFFERS ONLINE REPORTING:
For the first time in Texas, workers who are injured on the job can report the injury to the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission via the Internet. The online reporting, available in both Spanish and English, was launched as part of the Commission's TXCOMP system in mid-September. Injured workers are required to file the Employee's Notice of Injury or Occupational Disease and Claim for Compensation (TWCC-41) form with the Commission within one year of the injury date. Workers can now report the injury to the Commission from a home computer, or from self-service computer stations located at local Commission offices around the state. The online reporting of worker injuries is the result of a Business Process Improvement Project that has been underway at the Commission since 1999. Stacey Jefferson, director of Business & Information Technology Services, directs the project. Other improvements to the TXCOMP system are expected to be launched in Fall 2004 and will allow designated parties to view a workers' compensation claim online, Jefferson said. Injured workers still have the option of submitting a paper copy of the TWCC-41 form to the Commission. These forms are available for downloading from the Commission Web site at www.twcc.state.tx.us.
ARK. WORKERS' COMP SUPPLEMENT:
The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission announced the availability of a 2004 supplement to The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Laws and Rules Annotated, published by LexisNexis. The 2004 supplement contains updated rules, advisories and case annotations. Current subscribers receive the 2004 supplement as part of their subscription. New purchasers may order a copy of the 2003 edition complete with CD-ROM and the 2004 supplement direct from LexisNexis via its online bookstore at http://bookstore.lexis.com, by telephone at (800) 562-1197 or by fax at (800) 828-8341.
