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Informative articles on insurance, safety and risk for you, your family or your business. Each article includes a link for you to share with anyone who may benefit.
2011: A year of disasters for insurers
2011: A year of disasters for insurers
2011 will go down as a record-breaking year for disasters – both in the United States and worldwide. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued 99 major disaster declarations in 2011 for losses incurred due to tornadoes, floods, tropical storms and Hurricane Irene. The 99 declarations are nearly triple the average of 34 per year dating back to 1953. A major disaster declaration makes federal funding available to individuals and businesses in the affected area. In addition, FEMA issued another 29 emergency declarations for these natural disasters as well as 114 fire management assistance declarations for the forest fires that occurred throughout the country, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma. Six of the FEMA major disaster declarations affected Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Five of the six declarations were for the damages caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The sixth declaration was for the flooding that occurred in the Pennsylvania counties of Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Tioga and Wyoming in April 2011. In January the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that 12 separate weather/climate disasters occurred in the United States in 2011, each of which caused at least $1 billion in damages amounting to a total of $52 billion in both insured and uninsured losses. Some of these natural disasters were:
According to an estimate by the Insurance Information Institute (III), direct insured losses could exceed $35 billion for the damages caused by the natural disasters of 2011. Obviously these disasters have had an impact on our insurance companies’ bottom lines. Data from the III shows that the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry recorded $10.4 billion in underwriting losses in 2010. Available data shows that for the first nine months of 2011 underwriting losses were $34.9 billion, more than five times the losses incurred during the same time period in 2010. Moreover, for the first nine months of 2011, the combined ratio – a key measure of losses and other underwriting expenses per dollar of premium – deteriorated to 109.9 percent from 101.2 percent for the same period in 2010. The losses experienced in 2011 have left many insurers with lower capital levels. Policyholders’ surplus totaled $538.6 billion as of Sept. 30, 2011, down 4 percent from $564.7 billion as of March 31, 2011. This creates an environment that possibly could affect rate increases. Recent data from the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers shows that commercial property and casualty pricing increased 1 percent on average in the third quarter of 2011, versus flat prices in the second quarter of 2011 and a 3 percent reduction in the first quarter of 2011. The Risk Management Society reported that prices for most lines of commercial insurance in the United States have begun to rise for the first time since 2003. The stage is set for further increases in pricing as low investment yields, increased property reinsurance costs and stabilizing capital positions will make it difficult for the insurers to continue pricing their business below cost. It appears that firming up their pricing will be the only way for them to support their bottom line. Will the market stay “soft,” or are we looking at the beginning of a “hard” market? Only time will tell. Jerry Milton, CIC, contributed this resource. The legal profession recognizes him as an expert on insurance coverages. He is also an education consultant for IA&B, working with CISR, CIC and continuing education programs. Information contained in this resource is current as of the published date. Published Date: January 23, 2012. |
Keep Warm Wisely: How to Safely Heat Your Maryland Home
Is there anything quite so pleasant as coming home to a warm and cozy house on a cold winter's day? Home isn't just where the heart is; in the winter, it's also where the hearth is.
Heat comes to us in many forms: electric, gas, portable space heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces. All of these can pose a threat to a Maryland home's safetynot to mention that of its residentsif they are not properly maintained and managed. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, heating fires are the second leading cause of all residential building fires. About 50 percent of all fires that result from home heating equipment are reported during the months of December, January, and February. Fortunately, it is possible to stay warm safely this winter by following a few simple suggestions.
- Have your chimney professionally cleaned before lighting the first fire of the year. Removing all debris from the chimney and opening the flue will ensure that your home remains free of dangerous smoke.
- Use only seasoned hardwood such as ash, oak, or maple in your fireplace. Do not burn trash or cardboard boxes.
- Employ fireplace screens or glass fireplace doors to keep embers off of rugs and carpets.
- If you have a gas heating system, place carbon monoxide detectors in your home. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, carbon monoxidealso known as the "silent killer"kills about 300 people in their homes annually. There are small, convenient detectors that plug into electrical outlets and sound an alarm if carbon monoxide is in the air. Keep at least one near every sleeping area.
- Never leave electric space heaters on if they are unattended, and always position them away from flammable objects, as well as from people, pets, furniture, and curtains. Unplug them when they are not in use.
- Maintain a three-foot kid-free zone around all heating sources.
- Pay a professional to examine and clean your home's heating unit annually. He or she can repair potentially deadly leaks.
- Clean your home's air vents by removing their covers and vacuuming out any dust or debris that may have accumulated in them during warmer weather.
- Never use an oven or stovetop to heat your home, and always use gas or charcoal grills outdoors.
- If you ever smell gas, immediately extinguish all flames in your home, put out cigarettes, and do not operate electrical appliances because they may create sparks. Turn off all gas appliances and make sure pilot lights are out. If you still smell gas after opening windows and doors, turn off your home's main gas tap. Call the gas company immediately and evacuate.
- If a pilot light goes out, turn off the gas at that heat source and wait several minutes before re-lighting it.
- If your pilot light produces a red or yellow flame, call for service; the flame should be blue.
- Finally, make sure your smoke alarms are all functioning properly.
Call or contact Kirby Insurance Agency, Inc. today to make sure your home insurance policy is up to date.
Kirby Insurance Privacy Notice
Your Privacy
Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GBLA) generally prohibits any financial institution, directly or through its affiliates, from sharing nonpublic personal information about you with a nonaffiliated third party unless the institution provides you with a notice of its privacy policies and practices, such as the type of information that it collects about you and the categories of persons or entities to whom it may be disclosed. In compliance with the GLBA and state regulations, we are providing you with this document, which notifies you of the privacy policies and practices of the Kirby Insurance Agency, Inc.
The GLBA further requires that we inform you that you have a right to prevent us from sharing nonpublic personal financial information about you with a nonaffiliated third party for any purpose that is not specifically authorized by law. Your right to prevent us from sharing nonpublic personal information about you with a nonaffiliated third party for a purpose that is not specifically authorized by law is called your right to “opt out” of such information sharing.
With regard to health information, we may not share your personal information without asking you for your permission. This is called your right to “opt in” of such information sharing.
At the Kirby Insurance Agency, Inc. we are committed to providing you the best service while earning your trust and protecting the privacy of your information. We understand and respect the fact that you may wish to keep your personal information confidential.
The following is our policy on how we handle your information:
We collect nonpublic personal and health information about you from the following sources:
· Information from applications. This information you give us on applications and other forms, by phone or online. This information includes your name, address, telephone number, drivers license number, Social Security number, date of birth, length of employment, gender, marital status, prior insurance information, status of home ownership, length of residency, vehicle description, miles driven and vehicle use/driving history that we receive from you on applications and other forms.
· Information about transactions. This information about your trusted transactions with our affiliates and us. It includes your insurance coverage premiums and selection, your payment and claims history and information necessary for billing and payment. Other information used to investigate and settle insurance claims, such as witness statements and police reports, may be included as well.
· Information we receive from a consumer-reporting agency. This information is generally used to confirm or supplement application information. We disclose consumer report information only as necessary to quote or service your insurance policy and as permitted by law. By obtaining a quote, you consent to our sharing of this information with companies and their affiliates for underwriting purposes.
We do not disclose any nonpublic personal financial and health information about our clients or former clients to anyone, except as permitted by law.
We restrict access to nonpublic personal financial and health information about you to those employees who need to know that information to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal and state regulations to guard your nonpublic personal financial information.
At the Kirby Insurance Agency, Inc. we are committed to protecting your privacy rights. We acknowledge your right to keep your own financial and health information confidential and, because of this, we have created this document to explain our privacy policy to you. In addition, we are complying with both state and federal laws which require insurance agencies to notify you, our valued clients, about how we intend to treat your nonpublic personal financial and health information that you have entrusted us with.
Our policy is a pledge – we pledge to protect your information!
We pledge to you, our valued client, that the information you have provided us to obtain appropriate insurance coverage will be used for just that purpose and that purpose only. We will not share such information with nonaffiliated third parties, such as banks, securities firms or other institutions.
However, in order to better serve you, your trusted information may be shared with third parties for the purpose of insurance underwriting.