Property Casualty Insurers Association ofAmerica

With the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, the PropertyCasualty Insurers Association of America is releasing itslatest in a series of consumer education tools, “PCI'sQuick Steps for Disaster Preparedness and Recovery,” whichhelps residents take action to protect their families and propertyas well as better understand their insurance policies.

“This interactive resource guide helps address significantinformation gaps regarding flood insurance and is designed toimprove preparedness for future events,” says MargueriteTortorello, PCI's senior vice president of publicaffairs. “While the size, scope and response to Sandy wasunprecedented in the Northeast, the storm highlighted the need toprovide more information to consumers about disaster preparednessand recovery. In an effort to better prepare consumers for the nextnatural disaster, PCI is waging a consumer education campaign tohelp policyholders better understand their insurance policies andtake steps to be financially as well as physically prepared fornatural disasters. One key to financial preparedness isunderstanding your insurance policy and ensuring you have thecoverage in place that will protect you and your property.”

PCI's Quick Steps for Disaster Preparedness and Recovery willengage consumers with interactive tools, video, infographics andaction steps to create an home inventory, a checklist for before,during and after a disaster, and access mobile apps that covereverything from helping consumers address their insurance needs toweather updates, disaster preparations and locating shelters toservices that help you contact loved ones.

“While the industry is very well versed in responding to naturaldisasters, insurers are always working on ways to improve ourcommunication channels,” said Tortorello. “By using the latestconsumer information consumption trends, we developed thisinteractive guide to allows consumers and public policymakers toquickly access information that they can take action on and easilyshare this tool with others on social media.”

PCI has additional disaster recovery information and toolsavailable at www.pciaa.net/hurricane

American Insurance Association

“The magnitude of the damage caused by Sandy was extraordinary,as was the collective response of the insurance industry,” saysLeigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of AIA. “Insurers prepareyear-round for disasters in order to help their policyholdersrecover when storms hit. That legwork allowed insurers to hit theground running soon after Sandy made landfall and helppolicyholders begin the recovery process.

“Since Sandy, the American Insurance Association has workedclosely with policymakers and regulators to achieve betterpost-catastrophe regulatory certainty and performance. Webelieve there were many lessons learned as a result of the storm.These include the need for efficient and reasonable mediationprograms, uniform data reporting, straightforward propertyinsurance summaries, reasonable moratoria, and the continuingimportance of windstorm deductibles.

“The American Insurance Association has had a continuousdialogue with government officials about improving regulations andlaws so that customers, insurers and local authorities can betterweather future storms. Working together, we can produce measuresthat make insurance easier to navigate and understand for allinvolved.”