Quake and Property and Casualty Insurance
Posted:
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Category:
Insurance Training
Magnitude 3.5 may not sound like a lot for an earthquake (it isn’t, in fact), but the seven temblors in Oklahoma this October (plus the 200 minor quakes in 2010) did rattle a lot of nerves and countless windowpanes. Many are worried and for good reason are looking for comfort to their insurance policies and to those who hold a property and casualty insurance license. But Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak says that may not be the best thing to do.
Doak points out that most property insurance policies, unfortunately, don’t include earthquake damage, something covered specifically by earthquake insurance. He advises policyholders to ask to be oriented on earthquake insurance by their agents, who in turn must be conversant and forthcoming about the subject and their clients’ options.
Doak reminds policyholders that there’s a waiting period before coverage can be added to a property insurance policy after a quake. That waiting time, he says, is the best time for policyholders and insurers to discuss all options—as well as for the former to inventory their belongings and make sure that their current coverage is adequate.
Understanding the nuts and bolts of property damage and insurance is an endeavor best undertaken with the help of a licensed insurance professional. To become one, LearnInsurance.com provides the best insurance licensing classes online leading to a property and casualty insurance license, in particular, or to an insurance license, in general.
Meanwhile, there is no quake to speak of though to shake up vast flat landscape of post-housing-crash America. But there are at last indisputable signs of revival. Among them—and one of the more important ones—is the insurance industry, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported to have gained 2,500 jobs in October, following small dips in September. According to the employment report the industry employment at 2.2 million jobs is just incrementally lower by 0.8 percent than that of October 2010.
Nationwide, unemployment lost traction by 9.0 percent, on the heels of new jobs created totaling 80,000. Private-sector employment also gained, with small but continuing increases in business and professional services, and in health care.
Total insurance industry payrolls are reported each month on a seasonally adjusted basis, along with the current month’s non-farm payrolls. Separately, data by industry segment — broken out by various insurance carrier and non-carrier categories — are available only on an unadjusted basis for the prior month.
Year-to-year, agents and brokers were the only sector to post a positive employment growth (+0.8% to 638,300) based on September 2011 data. Employment in all other sectors of insurance declined in 2011 compared with 2010, but not substantially.
Interestingly, the following sectors posted gains in weekly pay: life (+1.3% to $1,039.58), health (+6.9% to $1,037.62), property/casualty (+6.5% to $1,096.52), agents/brokers (+2.3% to $809.41), claims adjusting (+6.6% to $977.03) and third-party administration of claims (+4.5% to $813.28).
If the good signs continue, the good times should start rolling in sooner or later for aspiring insurance professionals.
