TRIAGE

In this season of high notes and well wishes, we applaud the
new officers and directors of the New York Insurance
Association (NYIA) for 2015. Chair is Bernard Turi, senior vice president, general counsel, general auditor and chief risk officer, Utica National Insurance Group, Utica; First vice chair: Steven Coffey, president and chief executive officer, Broome Co-operative Insurance Company, Vestal; Second vice chair: Elizabeth Heck, president and chief operating officer, Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company, New York; Treasurer: Marlene Benton-Sherwood, president, Fulmont Mutual Insurance Company, Johnstown; Directors: Martin Doto, senior vice president of government affairs and claims, Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, New Berlin, Stephen Harris, president and chief executive officer, Sterling Insurance Company, Cobleskill; Floyd Holloway, counsel, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Chadds Ford, Pa.; Mark Prechtl, executive vice president and chief executive officer, Chautauqua Patrons Insurance
Company, Jamestown. … Long time friend John R. DiForte
(pictured right) was recently presented with The Eugene Toale
Award by The NY Chapter of The Society of Property Casualty
Underwriters at the annual conferment luncheon held at B.B.
Kings in Manhattan. The Award is granted to CPCU credentialed executives who excel at promoting professional development and education in the insurance industry. John is the
former president of the DiForte Agency, an independent insur
ance agency founded by his father in 1951, now led by his son
John, Jr. John, Sr. retired on 1/16/2014 after 40 years of service.
He was past president of the NY Chapter of CPCU, a member
of the Ethics Committee and Director of the Europe Chapter. We came to know John when he played a key role in getting PROJECT INVEST in the NYC Public School; this involves a work-study program for high school students seeking careers in the insurance industry. A Wagner College grad with an MBA from The College of Insurance, he has been a member of the Society of Property Casualty Underwriters since 1979. John has completed the NYC Marathon seven times. Congrats, John. … Drivers who own homes file far fewer auto insurance claims than those who rent or live with parents, according to an analysis from Insurance.com, an insurance quote-comparison site. Among 700,000 drivers aged 18 and older who disclosed past auto insurance claims as part of their online car insurance comparison-shopping: 14.3 percent of homeowners (single-family, condo and multi-family dwellings) had filed at least one car insurance claim in the past three years.16.8 percent of renters had filed a claim. 22.2 percent of drivers who live with their parents had filed a claim. The data include claims of all kinds: collision, comprehensive, liability and uninsured motorist. Discounts for bundling home and auto insurance average about eight percent nationwide, according to data gathered for Insurance.com by Quadrant Information Services. … As we go to press, the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) returns to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to approve a long-term reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), placing particular focus on House and Senate leadership and members of the Financial Services, Banking, and Homeland Security committees. Enacted in the wake of 9/11, TRIA has provided stability to the economy since 2002. Following the attacks, reinsurers and primary insurers – after paying out more than $30 billion in claims – withdrew from the terrorism risk insurance marketplace. The absence of coverage contributed to massive job losses and billions of dollars in damage to industries dependent upon the availability of terrorism risk coverage. TRIA allowed businesses to once again purchase insurance while protecting the economy against highly unpredictable, catastrophic terrorist attacks. The law has twice been reauthorized with bipartisan congressional support, and is set to expire at the end of the year unless renewed.

Seems like a no brainer, but then again, we are talking about Washington.