The American Heart Association has really been pushing their “Red Dress” campaign.  Everyone should look it up on their website.  It has been taken a little further in some parts of the country by some companies promoting “red shirt” day.  On a company’s casual day all the women in the office wear a red shirt or tee.  Maybe your office would like to participate in this event.

Congratulations to Ruthie for winning the National Outstanding Customer Service Representative of the Year Award.

Something to ponder – Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.

September

National NAIW NEW Address: 1847 E. 15th St. Tulsa, OK 74104-4610.  Send all standard mail to this address.
Send check or payments to National NAIW: Dept. 1400 P.O. Box 21820 Tulsa, OK 74101-1820

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi State Fire Marshal make an arrest on arson charges.  On Monday morning, August 2, 2004, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department received a call from 22 Red Brown Drive requesting a deputy to come and investigate an assault and vandalism.  Deputies arrived on the scene and were informed by the occupants that an ex-husband had broken windows in the house and cars and had assaulted one of the occupants.

On Tuesday night, the occupants called and reported that the ex-husband had returned causing more damage.  Deputies responded again and continued the investigation.  On Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office received a call that more damage had been done and now a van was on fire.  Both the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Wayne County Fire Department responded.  The blaze was extinguished while the investigation continued.

On Thursday, August 5, the investigation revealed that one of the occupants, Patrick Cureton, 18, of 22 Red Brown Drive, was responsible for the incidents.  There is no evidence linking the ex-husband to the incidents at this time.  Cureton has been charged with Arson 3rd Degree, Felony Malicious Mischief, and 3 counts of filing a false police report.  The investigation is still ongoing at this time.

If you are a recent CPCU or IIA student, you should have received a copy of their 2005 catalog.

In the new catalog, look for the following highlights:

Expanded two-month testing windows begin on January 15, 2005

Revised ARe program has enhanced content, contemporary readings, and a choice of electives

Exclusive SMART Study Aids are now available for courses in the Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU) designation program

Practice exam CD-ROMs are included in all CPCU, INS, AU, AIC, and AIS Course Guides

New and revised study materials are available for several CPCU and IIA courses

If you have not yet received a 2005 catalog, request your free copy by calling Customer Service at (800) 644-2101 or download it from their Web site, http://www.aicpcu.org/catalog.htm.

The good news for Florida insurers is that Hurricane Frances "fizzled in terms of insurance implications," according to equity analysts, with insured damage not as bad as predicted, but an industry expert cautioned Sept. 7 that the 2004 hurricane season is not over yet.

On the afternoon of Sept. 7, catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide Corp. estimated that insured losses from Frances will fall between $5 billion and $10 billion.

According to industry estimates, U.S. property/casualty insurers expect to pay between $6.8 billion and $7.4 billion for insured property losses from Charley, a Category 4 hurricane that swept through Florida and other areas of the U.S. eastern seaboard starting Aug. 13. Currently, Charley is the second-costliest hurricane for insurers after 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which caused $15.5 billion in insured losses.

If insured losses from Frances come in at $5 billion this will make Frances the fifth expensive hurricane in history.

In a Sept. 7 research note, Morgan Stanley equity analysts Vinay Saqi, William Wilt and Vinay Misquith, wrote that there is no change in their industry view as a result of Frances. "Individual company losses should be manageable," they write. "Companies seem to have the capital to fund the losses."

Flood insurance, which could be a bigger component of losses, is generally not covered in traditional homeowners policies, Saqi, Wilt and Misquith said.  Most people on the very coastal areas of Florida are likely to have had the flood coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Hurricane Ivan is currently in the Caribbean and at press time is a Category 4.

Preliminary estimates from member companies of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America indicate that Frances will produce "significantly more claims" than Charley, but the average claim will not be as high, the trade group said.