Declarations

Leaks Happen

“The hypocrisy really lies in the pipeline corporations that say their pipelines are safe, say leaks don’t happen. They blame activists who are trying to stop global cataclysm by taking action to point out what they do every day, which is leak and spill.”

— Jay O’Hara, a spokesman for the environmental group Climate Direct Action, which has targeted valves on pipelines in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana and Washington state. O’Hara was reacting to a report by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, developer of the Dakota Access pipeline, that there have been “coordinated physical attacks” on the much-protested line, just as it’s almost ready to carry oil.

Just Milk

“All Mary Lou wants to do is sell skim milk that contains literally one ingredient — pasteurized skim milk — and label it as pasteurized skim milk.”

— Institute for Justice lawyer Justin Pearson, who represents dairy owner Mary Lou Wesselhoeft in her lawsuit against the state of Florida over what the dairy can label its product. The state had demanded the creamery label the milk as “imitation” because vitamins aren’t added to it. A Florida Appeals Court disagreed, and ruled the dairy wasn’t being deceptive in labeling the product skim milk.

An Unusual Year

“It has been a very unusual year for us. This year we also had to bring in personnel from 34 different states, in different capacities, to address the fires.”

— Oklahoma State Forester George Geissler remarks on 2017’s status as one of the state’s most active years on record for wildfires. The Oklahoma Forestry Services agency has responded to more than 800 wildfires so far that resulted in more than 450,000 acres of burnt woodlands and grasslands. Geissler said the number could increase if the state sees “a bad summer season.”

Disaster Response Plans

“It is important for all insurers, whatever the scale of their business, to understand that their ability to recover from a disaster ultimately impacts the needs of New York consumers.”

— New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Maria T. Vullo. The DFS is asking all insurance companies licensed to conduct business in the state to submit updated disaster response and recovery plans by June 16, 2017.

InsuranceJournal.com Poll: What’s your biggest challenge as a young agent?

19.5% Finding new markets
42.8% Finding new employees
52.9% Finding new customers
24.8% Finding new motivation
34.7% Finding new efficiencies
Source: 2017 Young Agents Survey Declarations