PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

OAIN: Auto Insurance Cos. and Government Officials Warn of Post-Hurricane Dangers

State Farm reports that it has already received tens of thousands of claims in the wake of the storm.

2011-08-31
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, August 31, 2011 (Press-News.org) Insurance companies and government entities are warning drivers and other East Coast residents that while the storm has passed, danger still abounds for motorists in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, according to Online Auto Insurance News.

Roadways that are normally safe can be dangerous after hurricanes and other natural disasters, authorities say. And auto accidents pose more than just physical risks--they can also drive up premiums for policyholders, especially those with tarnished driving records or who for other reasons already carry high risk car insurance policies.

State Farm issued a safety advisory this week for storm survivors, urging them to take the following precautions:

--Avoid sewers and storm drains and never try to drive or walk through rushing flood waters. Even six inches of moving water can be extremely dangerous, the company pointed out, and more people drown in their vehicles than anywhere else.

--Steer clear of downed power lines. Electrical current passes easily through water, and motorists and pedestrians who get too close to downed lines can get electrocuted.

--Do not drive vehicles that have been damaged by floodwaters--a vehicle's engine, transmission and electrical components are vulnerable to flooding damage. Cars and trucks that have been flooded should be operated only after they are inspected by a qualified technician.

State Farm policyholders have filed more than 42,000 auto and homeowner claims, the company announced Tuesday. The bulk of the loss reports came from New York and New Jersey, which saw a combined total of about 14,300 claims for damage to homes and more than 13,000 claims under auto insurance policies.

The coverage provider's advice comes on the heels of warnings from government officials about the ongoing risks associated with Irene's aftermath.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has warned those living in affected areas to watch out for new safety issues posed by floodwaters, including washed out roads, contaminated water and buildings, damaged electrical wires and other hazards.

Source: http://www.fema.gov/rebuild/recover/health.shtm

FEMA officials say residents should notify authorities about any health and safety risks they encounter, such as downed power lines, dead animals and impassable roads.

To learn more about this and other insurance issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/high-risk/ where they will find informative resource pages and a rate-comparison generator that can help users quickly evaluate their coverage options.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The RUBY-1 trial

2011-08-31
A phase II dose-finding study has found that the new oral Factor Xa inhibitor darexaban was associated with a two to four-fold increase in bleeding when added to dual antiplatelet therapy in patients following an acute coronary syndrome. Professor Gabriel Steg from the Hôpital Bichat in Paris, presenting results from the RUBY-1 trial in a Hot Line session of the ESC Congress today, said the study produced no other safety concerns and that "establishing the role of low-dose darexaban in preventing major cardiac events after ACS now requires a large phase III trial". The ...

Results of the EXAMINATION trial

2011-08-31
The second generation drug-eluting stent Xience V performs well in patients having primary PCI for ST elevation myocardial infarction, and has a better safety profile than that of bare metal stents, according to results of the EXAMINATION (Evaluation of Xience-V stent in Acute Myocardial INfArcTION) trial. The study was a randomised controlled trial with an "all-comers" design to evaluate the Xience V stent in the complex setting of STEMI and to provide data that may be applicable to the real world population. Dr Sabate said that the first generation drug-eluting stents ...

The CRISP AMI trial

2011-08-31
Intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation prior to PCI in patients with ST segment elevation MI does not reduce infarct size as measured by MRI, according to results from the Counterpulsation Reduces Infarct Size Acute Myocardial Infarction (CRISP AMI) trial. Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation is a procedure in which a balloon inserted in the aorta is timed to inflate at the start of diastole and to deflate before the start of systole. This increases diastolic pressure, which increases coronary perfusion and oxygen delivery to the myocardium, and facilitates ejection ...

College freshmen face sleep problems but intervention can help

2011-08-31
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — When Kathryn Orzech attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia, she participated in drama and choir. Rehearsals that would have ended at 10 p.m. in high school now went much later. Social opportunities around the dorm — card games, trips to late-night snack hangout spots — beckoned but without parents around to wield the cudgel of a curfew. For a long list of reasons, college freshmen are often subpar sleepers. A new study by Orzech, now a postdoctoral fellow in sleep research at Brown University, and student health officials ...

Tropical coral could be used to create novel sunscreens for human use, say scientists

Tropical coral could be used to create novel sunscreens for human use, say scientists
2011-08-31
Researchers at King's College London have discovered how coral produces natural sunscreen compounds to protect itself from damaging UV rays, leading scientists to believe these compounds could form the basis of a new type of sunscreen for humans. The team has begun to uncover the genetic and biochemical processes behind how these compounds are produced and eventually hope to recreate them synthetically in the laboratory for use in developing sun protection. This month, as part of the three-year project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council ...

GSA TODAY science articles highlight geology of the Upper Midwest

2011-08-31
Boulder, Colorado, USA - As a prelude to The Geological Society of America's 2011 Annual Meeting & Exposition in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, the September issue of GSA Today departs from its normal format by publishing four short science articles intended to introduce different aspects of the geology of the Upper Midwest and the contemporary role of the geologist in society. Find them online at http://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/21/9/. The theme of the 8󈝸 Oct. 2011 GSA Annual Meeting & Exposition is Archaean to Anthropocene: The past is the key to the ...

Location, location, location; Study shows the middle is the place to be

2011-08-31
Choice is a central tenet of a free society. From the brand of cereal we eat for breakfast, to the answers we give on a survey, or the people we select to be our leaders, we frequently define ourselves by the choices we make. Yet a recent study appearing in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology suggests that there are factors that can significantly influence our free will without us even knowing it. In their article 'Preferring the One in the Middle: Further Evidence for the Centre-stage Effect', researchers Paul Rodway, Astrid Schepman and Jordana Lambert of the ...

STOP Obesity Alliance Task Force urges HHS to give obesity equal weight in essential health benefits

2011-08-31
"A major intent of the ACA is to control health care spending and increase access to necessary services for those who need it most," said Alliance Director Christine Ferguson, J.D. "With America's rising obesity rates leading to worsening health outcomes and equally alarming cost projections, leaving obesity unaddressed is both unsustainable and unacceptable." At the core of the Task Force's recommendations is the tenet that obesity and weight-related interventions should receive the same consideration as any other health condition. The Task Force noted that while more ...

Researchers build a tougher, lighter wind turbine blade

2011-08-31
Efforts to build larger wind turbines able to capture more energy from the air are stymied by the weight of blades. A Case Western Reserve University researcher has built a prototype blade that is substantially lighter and eight times tougher and more durable than currently used blade materials. Marcio Loos, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, works with colleagues at Case Western Reserve, and investigators from Bayer MaterialScience in Pittsburgh, and Molded Fiber Glass Co. in Ashtabula, Ohio, comparing the properties ...

Landlubber fish leap for love when tide is right

2011-08-31
One of the world's strangest animals – a unique fish that lives on land and can leap large distances despite having no legs – has a rich and complex social life, a new study has found. The odd lifestyle of the Pacific leaping blenny (Alticus arnoldorum) has been detailed for the first time in research findings that throw new light on how animal life first evolved to colonise the land. The Pacific leaping blenny is a marine fish yet is terrestrial in all aspects of its daily adult life, eking out a precarious existence in the intertidal zone of rocky shores in Micronesia, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Machine learning outperforms traditional statistical methods in addressing missing data in electronic health records

AI–guided lung ultrasound by nonexperts

Prevalence of and inequities in poor mental health across 3 US surveys

Association between surgeon stress and major surgical complications

How cryogenic microscopy could help strengthen food security

DNA damage can last unrepaired for years, changing our view of mutations

Could this fundamental discovery revolutionise fertiliser use in farming?

How one brain circuit encodes memories of both places and events

ASU-led collaboration receives $11.2 million to build a Southwest Regional Direct Air Capture Hub

Study finds strategies to minimize acne recurrence after taking medication for severe acne

Deep learning designs proteins against deadly snake venom

A new geometric machine learning method promises to accelerate precision drug development

Ancient genomes reveal an Iron Age society centred on women

How crickets co-exist with hostile ant hosts

Tapered polymer fibers enhance light delivery for neuroscience research

Syracuse University’s Fran Brown named Paul “Bear” Bryant Newcomer Coach of the Year Award recipient

DARPA-ABC program supports Wyss Institute-led collaboration toward deeper understanding of anesthesia and safe drugs enabling anesthesia without the need for extensive monitoring

The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub 2025 call for innovators opens today

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) launches a new funding opportunity to join the Collaborative Research Network

State-of-the-art fusion simulation leads three scientists to the 2024 Kaul Foundation Prize

Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative launches innovative brain health navigator program for intuitive coordination between patients and providers

Media registration now open: ATS 2025 in San Francisco

New study shows that corn-soybean crop rotation benefits are extremely sensitive to climate

From drops to data: Advancing global precipitation estimates with the LETKF algorithm

SeoulTech researchers propose a novel method to shed light on PFOS-induced neurotoxicity

Large-scale TMIST breast cancer screening trial achieves enrollment goal, paving the way for data that provides a precision approach to screeninge

Study published in NEJM Catalyst finds patients cared for by MedStar Health’s Safe Babies Safe Moms program have better outcomes in pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum

Octopus arms have segmented nervous systems to power extraordinary movements

Protein shapes can help untangle life’s ancient history

Memory systems in the brain drive food cravings that could influence body weight

[Press-News.org] OAIN: Auto Insurance Cos. and Government Officials Warn of Post-Hurricane Dangers
State Farm reports that it has already received tens of thousands of claims in the wake of the storm.