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The House leadership pulled a bill off of the floor before a vote could be taken on legislation that would add windstorm coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The bill, H.R. 1264, introduced by Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., could still be taken up again at any time, but for the moment, insurance industry representatives were satisfied that the House did not pass the measure after legislators discussed it on July 22.

An insurance industry expert told NU Online News Service that it is believed the bill was pulled because Rep. Taylor did not have enough votes to secure passage. The industry representative said the bill is not likely to come up next week and could be on hold until September.

In a formal statement of administration policy, the White House said that the Multiple Peril Insurance Act-H.R. 1264-would expand the government’s role in providing windstorm coverage that is “already readily available in the private sector.”

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In 7 Habits of Highly Successful Surveys, marketing experts at Vovic Corporation write:

Surveys are perhaps the most proven method for gathering data about customers in a structured way. But a number of trends have made it harder for survey authors to be successful. First, phone surveys suffered declining responses, as people thought the Do Not Call list exempted them from surveys (it doesn’t) and as households gave up landlines for cell phones (which it is against U.S. law to call in an automated fashion). Now, web survey response rates are dropping due to the rise in spam and the increasing use of smart phones to check email. A successful survey is one that is designed to meet its original goal, provides accurate data that is representative of the target population, and that improves the satisfaction level of its respondents. This whitepaper distills the seven keys to ensuring the best possible outcome for the survey author.
1. Focus on a Goal 2. Survey the Right Number of People 3. Craft Your Invitation Carefully 4. Order Questions Logically 5. Write Objective Questions 6. Shorten the Survey 7. Close the Feedback Loop

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In Hostile Opposing Counsel Expert Communications.com writes:

If the attorney spends most of the deposition attacking how much money you make as an expert witness or how you testify more for one side or the other, or is extremely obnoxious and aggressive, just remain cool and calm. You have already won the case and that attorney knows it all too well. His only hope is to get you crack and say or do something stupid. Like you said, these tactics are primarily in depositions where they can’t be “seen”. These kinds of tactics are rarely used in front of a jury because the jury would see them for what they are. In addition, while you can’t always depend on it, judges may limit some of these theatrics as your client attorney may object to the witness being abused.

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In THE REAL ESTATE CLIENT: VALUATION SERVES IMPORTANT MASTERS IN LITIGATION CASES, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar writes on minority interest:

A minority interest discount is applied to reflect the degree of absence of control or power over various business decisions of the partnership. It is common in partnership agreements of real estate limited partnerships to “limit” the ability of the limited partner to influence operations in the partnership, including management decisions, the ability to transfer limited partnership interests or substitute limited partners, the right to compel distributions, or the power to initiate liquidation of the partnership.

The discount for lack of marketability is concerned with the liquidity of the interest being valued. Liquidity is a measure of how quickly and easily the limited partnership interest can be converted into cash if the owner of the limited partnership interest wants to sell his/her investment.

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Insurance expert witnesses may opine on insurance customs, insurance practices, malpractice insurance, surplus insurance and more. Here the Surplus Line Association of Illinois answers the question: What is surplus line insurance?

In order to understand what surplus line insurance is, it is helpful first to understand a few things about the insurance marketplace and to understand what surplus line insurance is not.

The first player in the marketplace we’ll discuss is the insurance company, sometimes referred to as an insurance carrier or insurer. The insurer is the company that actually writes the policy and accepts the risk that something will happen. They collect your premiums and those of other insureds and invest them. If a claim is made, they pay the claim from this pool of collected premiums.

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Forestry expert witness Russell E. Carlson, RCA, BCMA, Tree Tech Consulting, writes on Guidelines for Protection of Trees on Construction Sites:

To preserve certain mature trees within a construction site some precautions must be taken to assure that neither the trunk, limbs nor root system of the tree are excessively damaged. The root system of a tree is the most vital and the most delicate part of the plant, and the most easily damaged.

The root system extends far from the trunk, often beyond the drip-line of the tree. The fine absorbing roots, those that collect water and nourishment for the tree, are located primarily within the top eight to twelve inches of the soil. (See Figure 1) The roots and the soil in this surface layer must be protected from injury.

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Entertainment and media expert witness Constance Penley, whose testimony was disallowed by the Santa Barbara judge in the John Stagliano obscenity trial, spoke out on Thursday about porn, obscenity and Stagliano himself. Penley says with every technological advance, there’s a greater democratization of sexual explicit expression through film, video, photography and the Internet, allowing more people access to sexual explicit material.

The pornography expert says many people don’t think it’s important to define pornography. She says they think they already know what pornography means, which is not just sexually explicit expression, but that it is obscene, has no 1st Amendment protection and therefore can be banned. Penley teaches film and media at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Read more:xbiznewswire.com.

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What Is an Insurance Expert Witness?

The insurance expert witness can explain the processes behind the actions of an insurance company or agent, and can talk about industry standards of behavior and ethics. The insurance expert witness can also provide information about how coverage works, conditions under which coverage may be denied, and the appeals process in place for asking for reconsideration of insurance decisions. All of this information can be used to support one side or the other.

Like other witnesses, an insurance expert witness can be cross examined by opposing counsel. If the testimony has been especially effective, the opposing lawyer may attempt to undermine the credibility of the witness, or to shoot holes in the testimony. For example, the lawyer might remind the jury that the witness is expressing opinions, rather than stating facts, or might call the character of the witness into question. Opposing counsel may also ask about how much compensation the witness received, as juries may read a high compensation as a sign that the witness was “bought”.

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In Hostile Opposing Counsel Expert Communications.com writes:

I have been doing expert witness work for 25 years. Attorneys basically have two tactics. They can either attack your opinions or attack you personally. If the whole deposition is about attacking you personally, you know you have won! If you the attorney could attack your objective opinions, he would certainly do so. If he refrains from attacking your objective opinions, he knows you are completely accurate. Therefore, since he can’t directly dispute your opinions, he can only attempt to discredit you and therefore, by implication, your opinions.

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In THE REAL ESTATE CLIENT: VALUATION SERVES IMPORTANT MASTERS IN LITIGATION CASES, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar writes on fair market value:

Having determined the aggregate net asset value of the limited partnership interest, various factors need to be considered in arriving at fair market value of the interest. These factors include the cash flow characteristics inside the partnership, the anticipation of future cash flow and ability to make distributions to partners, the economic circumstances regarding the assets and mortgages on the properties, the terms of the partnership agreement, and consideration of any special items that may effect the potential for profit or risk of loss.

There are two discounts applied to the aggregate net asset value in a business valuation in an attempt to quantify the above considerations: The minority interest discount (or discount for lack of control) and the marketability discount. Both lack of control and lack of marketability are inherent in limited partnership interests.

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