It’s always interesting to know which of our blog posts get the most views. Here are the top five most viewed in July:
By Dr. Steven Weisbart, Chief Economist, Insurance Information Institute
Beginning in 2020, the Social Security fund for retirees will be paying out more than it is taking in. This means that if there are no significant changes, in about 2034 the fund will exhaust the surplus it had built up since 1983. In that case, income to Social Security (from FICA taxes) will only be able to fund about 75 percent of benefits payable. It is for this reason that surveys show that many people under age 50 believe that Social Security won’t be available to provide retirement income for them.
Since Social Security income will be an important part of virtually everyone’s retirement, and since 2035 isn’t very far off (in financial planning terms), we should all be mindful of what might happen, and what we can do now to cope with adverse scenarios.
The government currently has no plan for what to do when the money runs short. One possibility is that everyone’s check in 2035 will be for 75 percent of what it was in 2034. Another possibility is that all those who received checks in 2034 will get the same amount in 2035 and new recipients will have benefits trimmed to fit the remaining funds. A third possibility is that those who are entitled to the highest dollar benefits will get nothing (on the presumption that they had high incomes and so likely have other sources of retirement income) so that those with smaller benefits can be paid their whole entitlement. And other possibilities exist, too.
It’s also possible that Congress will act to change the program so that none of these possibilities take place. Indeed, earlier this year H.R. 860 (The Social Security 2100 Act) was introduced in the U. S. House of Representatives to do just that. The House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on this bill on July 25, 2019. As of July 30, the bill had 211 co-sponsors—nearly enough for the full House to pass the bill and send it on to the Senate.
There are essentially seven major provisions in H.R. 860. Two of them raise payroll taxes to help fund Social Security benefits. Oddly, other provisions raise Social Security benefits. The two that raise payroll taxes are:
The provisions that raise Social Security benefits are mostly focused on low- and moderate-income earners:
The Dodge Charger HEMI and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat are at the top of the Highway Loss Data Institute’s (HLDI) most-stolen vehicles list this year. Both cars have theft rates that are more than five times the average for 2016-18 models, with the same as the Infiniti Q50, a midsize luxury sedan.
HLDI released its most likely to be stolen list for 2016-2018 models today, and almost all 20 models with the highest theft rates either have big engines or are luxury vehicles or pickups.
At the top of the least stolen list is the two-wheel-drive BMW 3 series, a midsize luxury sedan. It had just one claim for whole-vehicle theft in 104,901 insured vehicle years (an insured vehicle year is one vehicle insured for one year).
The Tesla Model S and Model X are also on the least-stolen list. A 2018 HLDI report showed that electric vehicles from a variety of manufacturers have lower theft claim rates than comparable vehicles. Their low theft rate may be due to the fact that they are usually parked in garages or close to a house to be near a power supply.
The Cadillac Escalade, which previously dominated HLDI’s rankings of most-stolen vehicles, is notably absent from this year’s list. Part of the reason is that there are more large luxury SUVs for thieves to choose from but also because Cadillac added enhanced security features beginning with the 2015 model year.
“The models most likely to be stolen tend to be powerful, pricey or pickups, but vehicle theft is also a crime of opportunity,” says HLDI Senior Vice President Matt Moore. “Better security features on all vehicles would be the best way to address the problem.”
Seventeen states and Washington, D.C. have laws taking effect in 2019 that either abolish or extend statutes of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse to sue or seek criminal charges against their abusers. A recent A.M. Best report compares child sexual-abuse claims to asbestos liability because the claims can affect decades-old insurance policies and the settlement amounts can be hard to predict.
In a recent blog post, Carey Quigley, a Gen Re treaty account underwriter, discusses what the new laws mean for underwriters that handle commercial “child custodial care” risks. These risks encompass schools, churches, sports, camps, day care and any other organized activities involving minors.
Quigley notes that unless their policies were written on a claims-made basis, the liability of these organizations for the past conduct of employees and volunteers does not typically affect their exposure under current insurance policies. Nevertheless, he recommends that underwriters take the following three steps in reviewing guidelines and policy forms:
Build a hazard scale: The degree of risk increases with the length of the activity, so a boarding school would be on the far end of the spectrum. Since parents are now more involved with their children’s activities, local groups and gatherings would present a lower risk.
Review insurance forms: Most general commercial writers may have a local dance school or a small church in their portfolio. For these types of policyholders insurers have developed Sexual Abuse and Molestation (SAM) endorsements offering critical but not unlimited protection.
Quigley recommends that insurers include language in their SAM endorsement to: Move all coverage into the policy when the abuse first began; treat all abuse by a single perpetrator as a single claim; treat all related or interrelated abuse as a single claim, without further qualification; and provide coverage on a claims-made basis.
Decide exclusions and check wording: When writing exclusions it’s important to determine whether they will extend to all types of physical abuse, or only sexual abuse. Often these terms are defined to prevent overlap with the GL policy and stacked limits from the endorsement and base policy. If a lawsuit alleges sexual abuse with false imprisonment or battery for instance, the insurer probably intends that all such allegations trigger only the SAM endorsement.
In conclusion Quigley says that underwriters should monitor court decisions to learn how policy language is interpreted by courts and check forms filed by other insurers to see how they address stacking issues.
Figuring out what the cost of an insurance premium should be is quite complicated — so complicated that insurance companies employ entire actuarial departments to do just that. Rating variables are an indispensable tool for setting the cost of insurance.
In a new paper, Insurance Rating Variables: What they are and why they matter, the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) explain why actuaries apply variables when setting rates – for example using a driver’s age and gender, accident history and vehicle model year to calculate the premium on an auto policy.
Rating variables are basically the characteristics of individual policyholders that can help approximate the cost of their risks. Insurance companies have been using rating variables to help set rates (and thereby price their policies) for decades.
However, the use of some rating variables has recently generated discussion within the United States. Some states have even passed legislation controlling the use of certain variables, such as gender. “Variables are designed to make insurance affordable and available to everyone,” said Ken Williams, FCAS, CAS staff actuary. “When a variable is removed from rate setting, the consumer stands to lose the most because lower-risk individuals will end up subsidizing higher-risk individuals; or, insurance companies may choose to accept fewer applications from consumers who might cause them to lose money.”
The paper explains that when regulators restrict the use of a particular variable, actuaries may replace it with another variable as a “proxy,” which might not help them price policies as well.
“Imagine that male drivers have higher accident costs and are more likely to drive pickup trucks,” Williams explained. “If gender is restricted, the proxy for gender could become pickup trucks. In this scenario, rates for pickup trucks may increase while rates for other types of vehicles may decrease.”
It is important to note that all rating variables, including proxies, are regulated in every state. For example, rating variables and proxies cannot directly or indirectly impact groups based on certain characteristics, such as race.
The paper notes that the use of rating variables has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of consumers seeking coverage in state-supported auto risk pools. Since the increased use of rating variables, the number of consumers in assigned risk pools has decreased almost 90 percent.
James Lynch, FCAS, chief actuary and vice president of research and education at the I.I.I., added, “Rating variables are regulated by state and federal authorities and they meet a variety of important criteria: they are credible, objective, and verifiable. They are an essential tool for setting accurate prices that are lower for low risk customers, higher for high risk customers, yet sufficient to cover an insurer’s costs.”
Here are a few key points from the report:
Click here to read the paper.
Here are the 5 most clicked on articles from this week’s I.I.I. Daily newsletter.
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People who work at our member companies are passionate about their jobs, and sometimes they tell us why. Here’s a story from Hadie Bartholomew who works at I.I.I. member Westfield Insurance as a Media Relations Manager.
Everyone loves a good story. But what makes a great story? As a communication professional, I have found storytelling with a purpose always adds value. A few chapters ago, before I started a career in insurance, I worked in the non-profit world to help save and heal lives through organ and tissue donation. Easy peasy! How could I not be passionate about telling captivating stories about people getting a second chance at life?! This set the bar high and, as I moved on, it was a challenge telling equally compelling stories across various industries. At times, it was tough to connect personally. So, how could I promote content if my heart wasn’t that into it?
What I learned from working at that non-profit is that I need to care about and connect to the content I am publishing and promoting. What’s more, I need to truly believe the industry I’m working in matters and is making a difference. I’ve worked in local television news, manufacturing, and technology and it was difficult to keep the fire of my passion burning bright. It was time for a change, and when I accepted a position at an insurance carrier, I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical. I bought into all those insurance stereotypes. But I was optimistic and came into my position with an open mind.
Two weeks after I started my new communications career in the insurance industry, Hurricane Irma came barreling across the Caribbean, Florida and up the coast. I quickly discovered how the insurance industry is truly a noble profession. I saw first-hand how insurance professionals put lives and communities back together and stay in the area long after the storm has passed through community giving campaigns. I travelled to Florida in the days following the storm and rode along with our catastrophic claims team. What a memorable, eye-opening experience. Watching our Claims team in action, making sure customers were safe and feeling cared for, answering their questions and providing support and guidance – it was incredibly moving. It was my ah-ha moment. I was fortunate to have this experience so quickly after starting a new job. This was a GREAT story and one that I wanted to shout from the rooftops. Seeing the compassion from the field lit my fuse. I found my passion in insurance. It’s more than insurance policies. We offer protection and help people when they need it the most. These are stories worth telling and inspire my passion.
I know I am not the first person to feel energized by what our industry means to people, families and communities. So let’s continue uncovering and discovering the stories that paint the true picture of this noble profession. Every agent, underwriter or risk manager can most likely tell dozens of stories of the customers’ lives they helped or homes and business that were restored. This industry isn’t boring, it’s life changing. We help people during some of their most difficult times, provide roadmaps to protect them and that’s a gratifying experience. For me, the key to being happy and fulfilled is seeing the positive impact a job has on my life and the lives of other people. As a content creator for Westfield, I found happiness telling the stories of how insurance makes a big difference in everyday life.
So, when I’m asked, “What do you do?” I ignore the eye rolls (or sighs) and am proud to say I work in the insurance industry. I share all my stories in my short tenure of how as insurance professionals we protect dreams and rebuild lives. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Hurricane Barry made landfall on July 13 as the first hurricane of the 2019 season, dumping heavy rain on parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. Unfortunately, whenever there’s flooding there are unscrupulous people ready to unload flooded cars onto credulous consumers, and vehicles flooded by Barry may soon appear for sale around the nation.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) warns that buyers should be particularly careful in the coming weeks and months as thousands of Barry-damaged vehicles may reappear for sale in their areas. Vehicles that were not insured may be cleaned up and put up for sale with no disclosure of the flood damage, which is illegal.
“When tragedy strikes criminals have the tendency to swoop in and scam consumers especially when it comes to the resale of flooded vehicles,” said Brooke Kelley, communications vice president of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).
Flood-damaged vehicles can exhibit a host of problems ranging from electrical malfunctions, mold and mildew, corrosion of various parts and slippery brakes. Corrosion can find its way to the car’s vital electronics, including airbag controllers, warns Consumer Reports.
The NICB offer the following tips to avoid being scammed:
After a disaster, NICB works with its member companies, law enforcement, and auto auction companies to identify the vehicles that have had an insurance claim filed. Most of the vehicles are sold to parts companies who will dismantle them and resell usable parts that were not damaged by the flooding.
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of vehicles that have been damaged by Barry will be searchable through NICB’s free VINCheck® service as well as the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) database.
VINCheck allows car buyers to see whether a vehicle has ever been declared as “salvage” or a total loss by an NICB member that participates in the program. Insurers representing about 88 percent of the personal auto insurance market provide their salvage data to the program. It also alerts users if a vehicle has been stolen and is still unrecovered.
The gig economy, or independent contract work has been around for centuries. Before the Industrial Revolution, and for some years after, most workers were self-employed or worked in small businesses.
Recently “gig work” has received a lot of buzz due to the rise of technology companies such as Uber, Lyft and TaskRabbit that electronically mediate contract work.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) closely examined the gig economy and nontraditional work arrangements in its 2019 Q2 Economic Briefing. Since workers in nontraditional arrangements rarely receive the same benefits as wage and salary workers, this issue has obvious relevance for workers compensation.
Some of the key takeaways from the Briefing include:
By Roy Wright, President & CEO, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
High-performing impact-resistant shingles can prevent avoidable damage caused by hail attacking roofs. Consumers should have confidence that products labeled as “impact resistant” live up to their expectations. This is the predicate for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s (IBHS) groundbreaking work to improve roof performance against hail.
One month ago, IBHS reached an institutional milestone by releasing the IBHS Hail Impact Test Protocol for Asphalt Shingles—a new test method that uses best-available science for predicating performance of asphalt shingles when exposed to hailstorms. This is the first performance scorecard rating of eight asphalt shingle products labeled as impact resistant. By bringing together years of work in the field and in the lab, IBHS continues to be a leader in the hail research space.
IBHS’s new test standard combines the results of lab and field work that advanced industry understanding of hailstone mass, strength, and kinetic energy. Applying those findings allows us to manufacture hailstones in our lab and mimic the way natural hail attacks a roof. We assess damage from the top side of the shingle – the same way a claims adjuster would – and use artificial intelligence along with experts to evaluate the performance range.
Yet this milestone is just the beginning. The IBHS Hail Impact Performance program is poised to drive change and innovation across industries for years to come.
With the performance of eight products now rated and released, three new products are already at the IBHS Research Center in Richburg, South Carolina awaiting testing at the specific request of the relevant product manufacturers. These new arrivals demonstrate our commitment to ongoing testing of new products brought to the market. In addition, we are committed to retest products every two years, ensuring performance scorecards remain up to date and offering manufacturers the chance to improve product offerings based on our results.
Exclusively for the member-companies supporting the IBHS mission, we have provided a data set that expands on what is publicly available and provides greater quantitative insights and relative consumer price comparisons. We answered questions live during a Hail Impact Standard Question and Answer webinar for the IBHS Members as we strive to help put this data to work for the insurance industry.
Roofing manufacturers have actively engaged with our research team throughout the development and release processes and continue to be engaged. Some have been excited to share the results while others look forward to the next round of testing. Each manufacturer has been on our research center campus observing testing, asking questions, and striving to put their product at the top. Since the release last month, we have already had manufacturers back at the research center talking with our researchers and continuing to push for improvement.
IBHS research is inspiring conversations to drive shingle performance forward, and that will pay dividends to the Members of IBHS, to the insurance industry, and to consumers. These conversations, initiated by the performance data, are only possible with the commitment IBHS, and IBHS Members, have made to resiliency. And these very same conversations are stimulating awareness of impact-resistant shingle performance in order to improve shingles and to inform consumers of their options.
Through this new work, we are showing the insurance industry and consumers which products live up to those expectations of resilience.