Day: June 4, 2010

State Farm announces it is leaving the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA still asleep at the switch.

Now that State Farm’s fleecing of the NFIP has been laid bare for all to see predictably, like a spoiled brat, Ed Rust and his gang of thugs in Bloomington are picking up their toys and going home.  Paige St John at the Herald Tribune has the story: (h/t to a reader)

State Farm Mutual confirmed Thursday that it will stop administering federal flood insurance policies this fall, leaving government officials to find a new home for 800,000 customers nationwide who bought their coverage through the company.

State Farm does not insure property against floods or storm surge. But it is the nation’s largest administrator of such policies written by the National Flood Insurance Program.

In exchange for administrative fees and commissions, State Farm writes federal flood policies and handles claims, including sending adjusters to homes to assess damage.

Predictably FEMA had no clue what was happening in the program they are supposed to be overseeing: Continue reading “State Farm announces it is leaving the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA still asleep at the switch.”

D

Our friends at Allstate can rest easy. Desiree Rogers has found a job! The news courtesy of the Huffington Post:

Former White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers has been hired by struggling Chicago-based Johnson Publishing–the world’s largest African-American owned and operated publishing company.

The Root reported Friday that Rogers, who stepped down from her Obama Administration job following the 2009 White House state dinner gatecrasher debacle, would join Johnson Publishing as a consultant to get the company back on it’s feet. Rogers is a longtime friend of CEO Linda Johnson Rice:

The benefit of Rogers’ counsel and connections come at a time when Johnson Publishing, the world’s largest African-American owned and operated publishing company, has battled against steep advertising declines — like much of print media.

Wendy Parks, a spokeswoman for the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, told The Root that Rogers would “assist with corporate strategy.”

This of course means Johnson Publishing will more than likely crash and burn sooner rather than later and begs the question about whether Continue reading “D”

Slicked and Slabbed the BP disaster Part 2: Hayward under pressure as BP's market capitalization evaporates faster than the spill.

Charlie Riedel, AP

With images like this one now streaming into the public’s view outrage at the BP Oil disaster is certain to escalate. On Tuesday I welcomed BP CEO Tony Hayward to Slabbed with what I promised would be a series of posts. This one examines what lead the CEO to the point of frustration to make such a bone headed comment and why the calls for nationalization of BP’s assets from our friends on the far left will not be necessary.  

Let’s begin with old friend Sam Friedman, who is the man at the National Underwriter, as he had an interesting take on his blog, one that I think hits close to home:  

Some might simply say that catastrophes like this don’t happen very often at all. Indeed, the lack of frequency, combined with the immense severity potential for such exposures is why oil companies generally self-insure such liabilities in the first place. It would just be too expensive to transfer such risks, given the premium an insurer would have to charge to cover a major loss.  

But that’s just the insurance side of the equation. Since oil companies literally pump money out of the ground, they can always count on their substantial cash flow to bail them out of any major exposure, including this one. Continue reading “Slicked and Slabbed the BP disaster Part 2: Hayward under pressure as BP's market capitalization evaporates faster than the spill.”