PC360 brings our readers the top quotes from major industryplayers for the week of April 23. Industry leaders comment ontopics ranging from a National Flood Insurance Program extension,to the consequences of soft-market pricing, and more.

Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., a member ofthe House Ways and Means Committee, talking to the IndependentInsurance Agents & Brokers of America about the lack of Senate action on a five-year National Flood InsuranceProgram extension:

“[Agents should] tell their Senate representatives to getoff their duff and get something done over there. Maybe pass thebudget too.”

Regarding the 2012 presidential election:

“This will be a referendum on the President. It is always aboutthe incumbent.”

(Photo credit: AP 2011 file photo)

W.R. Berkley Corp. CEO William R. Berkleytalking about how some companies may not survive a hard-market swing because they will run intotrouble when they have to pay for their underpriced past. Berkleyties the statement to AIG's problems in 2008, drawing criticalresponses from a couple of PC360 readers, who point outAIG's P&C pricing did not cause the company'sliquidity problems:

“[Paying for soft-market pricing] happened to AIG, but AIG gotbailed out by the government. Look at all the billions of dollarsof deficiencies they had to make up for.”

Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of AmericaChairman Mike Donohoe, at the association's annualLegislative Conference and Convention in Washington, D.C.,discussing challenges that older agents are facing adapting to moderntechnologies and evolving consumer preferences:

“Agents are being made, for the first time, to lead in areaswhere they are not comfortable, and that is scary to most agents.Technology is coming fast and we have young people coming to us inour agencies saying, 'What are we going to do and how are we goingto do it?' And we're not so sure.”

Industry reps sounding off about a possible two-yearNational Flood Insurance Program extension, as proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, insteadof a five-year extension with program reforms:

Mike Becker (pictured left), assistant vicepresident of federal affairs, National Association of ProfessionalInsurance Agents: “If the Senate is unable to pass a five-yearextension with the many needed reforms in the time remaining priorto May 31, PIA would support FEMA's request to extend the currentprogram for two years. Such a move could avert a serious disruption in the market andprovide a measure of stability for the millions of Americans whorely on the continued availability of flood insurancecoverage.”

Matt Gannon (pictured right), assistant vicepresident of federal affairs, National Association of MutualInsurance Companies: “We at NAMIC hope that lawmakers, particularlyin the Senate, will take this opportunity to not just sustain theNFIP, but strengthen it by passing bipartisan reform legislationalready approved by the [Senate] Banking committee.”

Sanford Elsass, chairman of the National RiskRetention Association, slamming a GAO report on the Liability Risk Retention Act(LRRA) of 1986 because the NAIC was able to review it and makecomments:

“The most egregious act was that the GAO took the draft and letthe NAIC review it and make comments on it when no one else gotthat privilege. Why, if the GAO is supposed to be doing what isequal and fair to all, does the NAIC get to edit the report? Thatdistorts its value as a taxpayer-funded document of no benefit toanyone but the NAIC.”