hurricane Storm Surge Threatens
More Coastal Properties

Superior Construction and Elevation Are Key to Home and Business Survival

TAMPA, Fla.—Government minimum flood elevation requirements for properties vulnerable to storm surge throughout the Gulf Coast region are woefully inadequate, according to a new study of property damage caused by Hurricane Ike, which struck the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston, Texas, one year ago, Sept. 13, 2008.

Eyeing Ike The study, HURRICANE IKE: Nature’s Force vs. Structural Strength, reveals that significantly more Gulf Coast homes and businesses are imperiled by disastrous flooding from storm surge than previously recognized by property

owners or policymakers. The report was issued by the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), which is an independent, not-for-profit applied research and communications organization supported by property insurers and reinsurers.

“Lessons learned from Hurricane Ike, which is the third-costliest hurricane on record, should be used by vulnerable communities from Texas to Maine to effectively reduce property damage in all hurricane-exposed areas,” said IBHS president and CEO Julie Rochman.

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Lethal Lack of Coverage

Harvard study finds nearly 45,000 excess
deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage

In This Issue

Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud Fights for hB 148

Temp Firm’s Creative Accounting Questioned

CHICAGO—A recent study published online estimates that nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.

ICT hosts “Into the (WC) Jungle” 9

RhSB Launches System to

Accelerate Producer Development 11

The new study, “Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults,” appears in the Sept. 17 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

Life Insurance Takes a Turn Back to the Future by Gregory E. Schwabe 12

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40% Higher Death Risk

The Harvard-based researchers found that uninsured, working-age Americans

SELLING STRATEGIES:

Who are Your Sales VIPS?

State Farm Increases Louisiana Auto Rates

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