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CNN Live At Daybreak
Aftermath of Frances; Hundreds of Insurance Adjustors in Florida to Assess Damage
Aired September 08, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Coping with another side of Frances. The hurricane may be over, but the floods are just arriving for some parts of the country.
It is Wednesday, September 8. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Costello. Now in the news.
President Bush meets today with congressional leaders who oversee the intelligence community. He wants to discuss legislation creating a new intelligence director and other recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.
John Kerry will be on the attack this morning. He'll be criticizing President Bush over his handling of the Iraq war. And he'll be speaking at the Cincinnati Museum, while President Bush outlines his case for Iraq.
Scott Peterson's murder trial resumes today with expert testimony about DNA. Prosecutors will try to place Laci Peterson on the boat, which they allege her husband used to dispose of her body.
Two Hollywood helicopter stunt pilots are set to snatch the Genesis spacecraft out of the Utah sky today. The capsule is returning from a three-year mission to probe the origins of the solar system.
Ivan, let's talk about him. He's now a terrible category 4 hurricane.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Chad, stay with me a second.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK.
COSTELLO: Because the remnants of Frances are now over North Carolina...
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: ... creating flooding there. And we have some dramatic pictures. Take a look. These pictures are from the Associated Press. This is a woman who was rescued. She was clinging to some trees after getting out of her car. Have you heard about this?
MYERS: I have not.
COSTELLO: She was pulled from the water after her car was swept off a bridge. She climbed out of the car. She was clinging to these trees praying that she would not fall into the water below. And as you can see, firefighters managed to rescue her. Just incredible.
You know, it's bad in a lot of parts of North Carolina.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: We want to head to Raleigh-Durham now and News 14 reporter Tracey Early.
Good morning -- Tracey.
TRACEY EARLY, NEWS 14 REPORTER: Well, good morning, Carol.
The rain, you know, has just picked up here in Raleigh just in the last 30 minutes, but we still haven't gotten enough for any major flooding.
Just to give you an idea of when the rain does come pretty heavily, this creek behind me usually floods up and over the roadway. Right now, it's only at about a foot and a quarter, so not too bad now. Of course, that could all change.
We do have some video of some possible tornado damage in other parts of North Carolina in Robison County. There, high winds knocked down some power lines and damaged several houses. Weather officials are saying those tornadoes are a direct effect from Frances. And already this morning we've had some tornado warnings in other counties as well.
Of course, Governor Easley did declare a state of emergency yesterday. He did deploy 125 National Guardsmen. So, we are expecting a lot more damage here in Raleigh-Durham.
Of course, right now, just some steady rainfall and not too much flooding, but we are keeping an eye on it -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Tracey, where are you standing?
EARLY: I'm standing -- this creek behind me, it's called Crabtree (ph) Creek, and usually it rises pretty high. But as you can see, it's still very low right now. So, this is one of the areas in Raleigh that we keep an eye out for, especially for drivers.
MYERS: Carol, let me jump in here. This is meteorologist Chad Myers. I've got a question for you. Now that we have tornado watches to your south and also probably they'll be issued for your area today, you guys are just under a one-two and actually probably a one-two- three punch. Are folks prepared for this today?
EARLY: You know, in Raleigh-Durham we've really skipped out on some of those tornadoes. Areas surrounding us have really taken the hit there. So, people here may not be taking it as seriously than areas around us. But, of course, if we do get the tornadoes today, I think they may be surprised, but hopefully they'll be ready as well -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes, an awful lot of tornado warnings yesterday. Obviously, every meteorologist up here had their face planted against the screen, taking a look at that video of that tornado, and that was quite something. Typically, tornadoes, Carol, from a hurricane are only about maybe the F-0 or the F-1 variety. But clearly that was doing some damage there.
And every time you see a big storm here, the big reds and the yellows moving through here, there is the potential of that storm twisting. And as that storm twists, obviously the potential for this: a tornado falling out of the sky there from News 14 Team Carolina.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad. Thank you, Tracey Early, from News 4 Team. We appreciate it.
The aftermath of Frances also means flooding across part of Florida and unexpected bills from insurance companies.
CNN's Jonathan Fried has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY MCCOWAN, HURRICANE VICTIM: And this is our retirement home. Good retirement, huh?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Betty McCowan and her husband moved to Florida from Virginia about 10 years ago. Hurricane Frances did this to their home two days ago.
B. MCCOWAN: Every room in the house has a hole in the roof, except one bedroom in the back.
FREED (on camera): So you discovered this today for the first time?
STU MCCOWAN, HURRICANE VICTIM: Yes.
FREED: You had no idea of the extent of the damage?
S. MCCOWAN: No, I had no idea. And I'm still flabbergasted, you know?
FREED (voice-over): That's Helen Buckley, the McCowans' insurance agent. She's helping them grab what they can and move them into an apartment while the roof and everything under it is repaired. It's going to take six months and cost about $30,000.
B. MCCOWAN: I don't know if I will ever be happy here again, because we tried so hard, and it was such a pretty place.
FREED: In Florida, as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, hurricane claims come with a hefty deductible. For houses worth more than $100,000, it's anywhere from 2 to 5 percent of the insured value of your home. For the McCowans, that will mean $2,200 out of their pocket. They're not worried because they planned for this possibility. But their agent says, not every client does.
HELEN BUCKLEY, STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENT: We try to guide them as best we can, but we can only do so much. A client's going to decide what they want themselves.
FREED: The typical Florida homeowner's premium is steep, too. Insurance companies insist the premiums and deductibles are justified.
LYNNE MCCHRISTIAN, USAA INSURANCE: It has given the industry the financial stability to handle not just one storm, but two storms and three storms that might come back-to-back.
FREED: The McCowans say it's all worth it, because without insurance in this case...
B. MCCOWAN: I would have had a heart attack, because that's our whole life right there on that one little plot of ground.
FREED: Despite the storm, it's a plot of ground they refuse to abandon.
Jonathan Freed, CNN, Indian Harbor Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about insurance from both sides of the issue. Insurance adjusters have their work cut out for them. The largest property insurer in Florida, State Farm, has set up an operations center in Jacksonville.
And joining us live from there is Larry Bockman with State Farm.
Good morning, Larry.
LARRY BOCKMAN, STATE FARM INSURANCE: Good morning, Carol. How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine. You must be tired yourself.
BOCKMAN: Well, we're doing OK. Thank you.
COSTELLO: Well, how many adjustors are currently in Florida? Because some of them had to leave.
BOCKMAN: Yes, that's exactly right, Carol. We had to reposition some of our folks as Hurricane Frances was coming in to make sure they stayed out of the way of harm's way.
We were able, of course, to continue to handle claims virtually from Charley during that period of time. And we are now back into all of the offices we had open before Frances came in back-handling Hurricane Charley claims.
We have about 1,500 people that are focused on Hurricane Charley claims and helping our State Farm agents. And then zone employees in the state of Florida respond. And we're bringing in at this point about 700 to 800 additional adjustors to assist with the Frances claims, and we'll be adjusting that as we get a better picture of the depth of the damage and exactly where it's located.
COSTELLO: Any estimate that you have that State Farm will have to pay out?
BOCKMAN: Not at this time, Carol. It's just too early to tell.
COSTELLO: Well, we heard in a previous story from our Jonathan Freed about the deductibles. Do you find that many people are having problems making that deductible?
BOCKMAN: Well, of course, a deductible is part of the insurance business process in the state of California -- or, excuse me, Florida. I'm sorry. We work all over the United States, and we, of course, have to adapt to each state that we go into. And high deductibles, hurricane deductibles are part of the insurance picture in the state of Florida.
Policyholders here are being asked to take a little bit more of the risk of owning a home, so that we can take the lion's share of the risk for more people. Higher deductibles makes policies more affordable in a hurricane-prone area like Florida. And it allows us to sell more...
COSTELLO: Well, but, Larry, the premiums went up, too.
BOCKMAN: Pardon me?
COSTELLO: The cost of home insurance went up as well, not just the deductible.
BOCKMAN: Yes, but by charging a higher deductible, it does allow us to charge lower premiums than we would otherwise.
COSTELLO: The other question I had, the deductible rose after Andrew, and I'm sure that many people -- well, not right now because they have other things on their minds. But they will wonder if the deductible will raise even higher after Frances. And what if Ivan hits? Will it be impossible to pay for insurance if you live in the state of Florida?
BOCKMAN: Well, Florida insurance premiums are based upon the history of hurricanes over a 20-year period. And premiums are set based upon that history. So, the eventuality that a hurricane will eventually hit in Florida at sometime or another is actually factored into the premiums. And we don't expect that premiums will be appreciably affected by this.
It is important to know, I think, that -- excuse me -- that premiums are set, as I said, based upon that 20-year history of hurricanes.
COSTELLO: Right. So, you don't see premiums going up appreciably even after Charley, Frances and maybe Ivan.
BOCKMAN: State Farm is in the insurance business, Carol, and that's what we do. And we're prepared for this.
COSTELLO: I was talking specifically about the possible increase in costs in premiums and deductibles in light of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances.
BOCKMAN: To the best of my knowledge, there wouldn't be any appreciable increase in premiums as a result. But I'm in the claims business, Carol, not in the actuary business.
COSTELLO: All right. Larry Bockman with State Farm, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Let's head live to New York now to check in with Bill Hemmer and Kelly Wallace in for Soledad this morning.
Good morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: A lot to talk about. It's already shaping up to be a very business morning.
WALLACE: Another jam-packed morning ahead.
HEMMER: Yes. Good morning to you, by the way.
WALLACE: Good morning to you.
HEMMER: Campaign 2004, President Bush slamming Senator Kerry on Iraq. Cheney hitting back on Kerry as well. We'll talk to the Bush campaign adviser, Tucker Eskew. Also, Madeleine Albright for the Kerry camp will be our guest as well this morning.
WALLACE: Also, Bill, we had expected it to happen, but it happened yesterday, U.S. deaths in Iraq going over the 1,000 mark. We will talk to a photographer embedded with a company that has lost the most men. Some stunning pictures. You really won't want to miss that.
HEMMER: And in Florida, they're still dealing with Frances, and will perhaps until, what? The weekend?
WALLACE: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Maybe past that? So...
WALLACE: People might be without power until Friday.
HEMMER: Tough going. We'll have it all for you, Carol, at the top of the hour here, OK?
COSTELLO: All right, we'll see you in about, oh, 20 minutes.
HEMMER: OK. Bye-bye.
COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, up, up and away. Well, not quite. Could the rising cost of your child's college tuition be slowing down? Carrie Lee has the lowdown for you at 6:42 Eastern.
Then, healthy options for eating on the go or when you're sitting still, like you do at work at your desk. That's at 50 minutes past.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Stocks are up. Let's get a check of the midweek markets. The Dow begins the day up 82 and a half points, the Nasdaq up 14, the S&P 500 up 7 and a half points.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Responding to last week's massacre of more than 300 hostages at a school in Beslan, Russia now says it is prepared to make preemptive strikes on what it calls terrorist bases anywhere in the world.
Israel is conducting a raid in Gaza. Huge Israeli bulldozers are piling through olive groves. The military says the operation is meant to prevent Palestinians from firing rockets into Israel.
In money news, what pro football team charges the most for tickets? Well, an annual survey finds the Super Bowl champs, New England Patriots, have the highest average price: $75.33 per seat.
In culture, Outkast's Andre 3000 is the man; of the year that is. He was named the international man of the year at the British GQ awards in London.
In sports, Robin is batman. Robin Ventura of the L.A. Dodgers hit his 18th career grand slam in an 8-2 win over Arizona that ties him for third on the all-time list. Lou Gehrig holds the record with 23.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Right now, do you have breakfast in one hand and homework or a briefcase in the other? Then you're like a lot of Americans, multi- tasking at mealtime. Coming up, some pointers to make sure you don't sacrifice a healthy diet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Wow! COSTELLO: Wow! What are you wowing over there?
MYERS: That was flying around over there.
COSTELLO: Got a minute? Probably not if you're like many Americans who often find themselves too busy to sit down and eat. But in your efforts to maximize time, you may be risking your health.
Joining us live from New York with more, our registered dietitian Lisa Drayer.
Good morning, Lisa.
LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Good morning, Carol.
And multi-tasking may be fine when it involves many activities, but when it comes to eating you might want to keep your meals separate from your to-do list.
Let's take a look now at some statistics from a new survey conducted by the American Dietetic Association and the ConAgra Foods Foundation: 62 percent of us say we are sometimes too busy to even sit down while we eat.
And when it comes to the activities that we're doing while we're eating on the go, 72 percent of us are running errands. Many of us are shopping for groceries, commuting, attending sports events. And 20 percent of us are shopping for clothes while we eat.
COSTELLO: We're eating.
MYERS: You can shop for groceries and eat at the same time?
DRAYER: You might not fit into the clothes. But when it comes to preparing meals, we're also multi-tasking, Carol. Nine out of 10 Americans say they multi-task while preparing food. The top three activities performed while preparing a meal include watching television; 73 percent of us watch TV while we eat. Seventy percent of us wash dishes, and 62 percent of us talk on the phone while we're preparing food.
And when it comes to desktop dining, this is very popular, but lunch is actually the meal that we most often eat at our desks, followed by snacks, breakfast and dinner. And the three most popular activities while eating lunch at work include working on the computer, reading and making phone calls.
Now, the danger, Carol, of all of this multi-tasking is that our hands are a carrier of bacteria. And bacteria can contaminate food and increase the risk of food-borne illness, especially if we don't wash our hands before we eat.
COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds so disgusting to me, Lisa, now that you bring that up. You know, I've always wondered about those office parties when the food has been left out for, oh, four hours, and your fellow employees have picked through them. How healthy can that be? DRAYER: Well, the best thing, Carol, is to ask how long the food has been sitting out. If it's been sitting out for more than two hours, it's probably a good idea to avoid it. And the reason is, bacteria grow most rapidly in food when it's kept out at room temperature for more than two hours. This is known as the danger zone.
And it's especially true with animal-based foods, like chicken or fish. You definitely want to err on the side of safety and skip that. This goes for any leftover lunch. Put it in the refrigerator right away. Don't let it sit during your conference call.
COSTELLO: And one more tip. Are there some foods that are safer to eat when you're multi-tasking than others?
DRAYER: Definitely. If you must multi-task, there are some options that are better in terms of safety and convenience. Let's take a look at these now.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that's a plant-based food, less of a risk than an animal-based food, like chicken or fish. Energy bars, meal replacements and shakes. A turkey or tuna sandwich is fine if you include an ice pack or a frozen juice box, which will thaw over the day. Bean soup or fruits, carrot sticks, soy chips and trail mix. But even with fruits, you want to clean the peels of bananas and oranges, because these can be a source of contamination as well.
MYERS: You wash your bananas?
DRAYER: Exactly. That's new advice now this year, Chad. Yes, wash those peels.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: I'm sorry, I've never -- I just peel it and eat it. I mean, I never wash a banana.
DRAYER: But your fingers...
COSTELLO: Well, you'll be washing your bananas now.
MYERS: I guess so.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Lisa.
We're going to take a short break. We'll be washing our bananas while you're away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: All right. Here we go. We're going to give away this coffee mug. I wasn't here yesterday to ask the questions, but we got some answers.
How old is the famous statue of David? Five hundred years old today. And what is the name of the signature building going up at the site of the old World Trade Center? And that's called the Freedom Tower.
And the winner, Delores Robinson from Rock Falls, Illinois, got them both right.
We're going to have two questions now, and you must, you must, answer them both and get them both correct.
Which state is going to be the first to use electronic voting with paper records? And then, according to Lisa Drayer, what percentage of people say that they're too busy to sit down and eat?
I found it funny -- and Daybreak@CNN.com to your answers there -- that 70 percent of the people were actually eating and talking on the phone at the same time.
COSTELLO: Well, I think...
MYERS: Aren't you supposed to not eat and talk? Don't you listen to your mother?
COSTELLO: If you're eating while grocery shopping, that was a weird one to me.
Daybreak@CNN.com. I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: See you.
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Aired September 8, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Coping with another side of Frances. The hurricane may be over, but the floods are just arriving for some parts of the country.
It is Wednesday, September 8. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Costello. Now in the news.
President Bush meets today with congressional leaders who oversee the intelligence community. He wants to discuss legislation creating a new intelligence director and other recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.
John Kerry will be on the attack this morning. He'll be criticizing President Bush over his handling of the Iraq war. And he'll be speaking at the Cincinnati Museum, while President Bush outlines his case for Iraq.
Scott Peterson's murder trial resumes today with expert testimony about DNA. Prosecutors will try to place Laci Peterson on the boat, which they allege her husband used to dispose of her body.
Two Hollywood helicopter stunt pilots are set to snatch the Genesis spacecraft out of the Utah sky today. The capsule is returning from a three-year mission to probe the origins of the solar system.
Ivan, let's talk about him. He's now a terrible category 4 hurricane.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Chad, stay with me a second.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK.
COSTELLO: Because the remnants of Frances are now over North Carolina...
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: ... creating flooding there. And we have some dramatic pictures. Take a look. These pictures are from the Associated Press. This is a woman who was rescued. She was clinging to some trees after getting out of her car. Have you heard about this?
MYERS: I have not.
COSTELLO: She was pulled from the water after her car was swept off a bridge. She climbed out of the car. She was clinging to these trees praying that she would not fall into the water below. And as you can see, firefighters managed to rescue her. Just incredible.
You know, it's bad in a lot of parts of North Carolina.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: We want to head to Raleigh-Durham now and News 14 reporter Tracey Early.
Good morning -- Tracey.
TRACEY EARLY, NEWS 14 REPORTER: Well, good morning, Carol.
The rain, you know, has just picked up here in Raleigh just in the last 30 minutes, but we still haven't gotten enough for any major flooding.
Just to give you an idea of when the rain does come pretty heavily, this creek behind me usually floods up and over the roadway. Right now, it's only at about a foot and a quarter, so not too bad now. Of course, that could all change.
We do have some video of some possible tornado damage in other parts of North Carolina in Robison County. There, high winds knocked down some power lines and damaged several houses. Weather officials are saying those tornadoes are a direct effect from Frances. And already this morning we've had some tornado warnings in other counties as well.
Of course, Governor Easley did declare a state of emergency yesterday. He did deploy 125 National Guardsmen. So, we are expecting a lot more damage here in Raleigh-Durham.
Of course, right now, just some steady rainfall and not too much flooding, but we are keeping an eye on it -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Tracey, where are you standing?
EARLY: I'm standing -- this creek behind me, it's called Crabtree (ph) Creek, and usually it rises pretty high. But as you can see, it's still very low right now. So, this is one of the areas in Raleigh that we keep an eye out for, especially for drivers.
MYERS: Carol, let me jump in here. This is meteorologist Chad Myers. I've got a question for you. Now that we have tornado watches to your south and also probably they'll be issued for your area today, you guys are just under a one-two and actually probably a one-two- three punch. Are folks prepared for this today?
EARLY: You know, in Raleigh-Durham we've really skipped out on some of those tornadoes. Areas surrounding us have really taken the hit there. So, people here may not be taking it as seriously than areas around us. But, of course, if we do get the tornadoes today, I think they may be surprised, but hopefully they'll be ready as well -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes, an awful lot of tornado warnings yesterday. Obviously, every meteorologist up here had their face planted against the screen, taking a look at that video of that tornado, and that was quite something. Typically, tornadoes, Carol, from a hurricane are only about maybe the F-0 or the F-1 variety. But clearly that was doing some damage there.
And every time you see a big storm here, the big reds and the yellows moving through here, there is the potential of that storm twisting. And as that storm twists, obviously the potential for this: a tornado falling out of the sky there from News 14 Team Carolina.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad. Thank you, Tracey Early, from News 4 Team. We appreciate it.
The aftermath of Frances also means flooding across part of Florida and unexpected bills from insurance companies.
CNN's Jonathan Fried has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY MCCOWAN, HURRICANE VICTIM: And this is our retirement home. Good retirement, huh?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Betty McCowan and her husband moved to Florida from Virginia about 10 years ago. Hurricane Frances did this to their home two days ago.
B. MCCOWAN: Every room in the house has a hole in the roof, except one bedroom in the back.
FREED (on camera): So you discovered this today for the first time?
STU MCCOWAN, HURRICANE VICTIM: Yes.
FREED: You had no idea of the extent of the damage?
S. MCCOWAN: No, I had no idea. And I'm still flabbergasted, you know?
FREED (voice-over): That's Helen Buckley, the McCowans' insurance agent. She's helping them grab what they can and move them into an apartment while the roof and everything under it is repaired. It's going to take six months and cost about $30,000.
B. MCCOWAN: I don't know if I will ever be happy here again, because we tried so hard, and it was such a pretty place.
FREED: In Florida, as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, hurricane claims come with a hefty deductible. For houses worth more than $100,000, it's anywhere from 2 to 5 percent of the insured value of your home. For the McCowans, that will mean $2,200 out of their pocket. They're not worried because they planned for this possibility. But their agent says, not every client does.
HELEN BUCKLEY, STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENT: We try to guide them as best we can, but we can only do so much. A client's going to decide what they want themselves.
FREED: The typical Florida homeowner's premium is steep, too. Insurance companies insist the premiums and deductibles are justified.
LYNNE MCCHRISTIAN, USAA INSURANCE: It has given the industry the financial stability to handle not just one storm, but two storms and three storms that might come back-to-back.
FREED: The McCowans say it's all worth it, because without insurance in this case...
B. MCCOWAN: I would have had a heart attack, because that's our whole life right there on that one little plot of ground.
FREED: Despite the storm, it's a plot of ground they refuse to abandon.
Jonathan Freed, CNN, Indian Harbor Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about insurance from both sides of the issue. Insurance adjusters have their work cut out for them. The largest property insurer in Florida, State Farm, has set up an operations center in Jacksonville.
And joining us live from there is Larry Bockman with State Farm.
Good morning, Larry.
LARRY BOCKMAN, STATE FARM INSURANCE: Good morning, Carol. How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine. You must be tired yourself.
BOCKMAN: Well, we're doing OK. Thank you.
COSTELLO: Well, how many adjustors are currently in Florida? Because some of them had to leave.
BOCKMAN: Yes, that's exactly right, Carol. We had to reposition some of our folks as Hurricane Frances was coming in to make sure they stayed out of the way of harm's way.
We were able, of course, to continue to handle claims virtually from Charley during that period of time. And we are now back into all of the offices we had open before Frances came in back-handling Hurricane Charley claims.
We have about 1,500 people that are focused on Hurricane Charley claims and helping our State Farm agents. And then zone employees in the state of Florida respond. And we're bringing in at this point about 700 to 800 additional adjustors to assist with the Frances claims, and we'll be adjusting that as we get a better picture of the depth of the damage and exactly where it's located.
COSTELLO: Any estimate that you have that State Farm will have to pay out?
BOCKMAN: Not at this time, Carol. It's just too early to tell.
COSTELLO: Well, we heard in a previous story from our Jonathan Freed about the deductibles. Do you find that many people are having problems making that deductible?
BOCKMAN: Well, of course, a deductible is part of the insurance business process in the state of California -- or, excuse me, Florida. I'm sorry. We work all over the United States, and we, of course, have to adapt to each state that we go into. And high deductibles, hurricane deductibles are part of the insurance picture in the state of Florida.
Policyholders here are being asked to take a little bit more of the risk of owning a home, so that we can take the lion's share of the risk for more people. Higher deductibles makes policies more affordable in a hurricane-prone area like Florida. And it allows us to sell more...
COSTELLO: Well, but, Larry, the premiums went up, too.
BOCKMAN: Pardon me?
COSTELLO: The cost of home insurance went up as well, not just the deductible.
BOCKMAN: Yes, but by charging a higher deductible, it does allow us to charge lower premiums than we would otherwise.
COSTELLO: The other question I had, the deductible rose after Andrew, and I'm sure that many people -- well, not right now because they have other things on their minds. But they will wonder if the deductible will raise even higher after Frances. And what if Ivan hits? Will it be impossible to pay for insurance if you live in the state of Florida?
BOCKMAN: Well, Florida insurance premiums are based upon the history of hurricanes over a 20-year period. And premiums are set based upon that history. So, the eventuality that a hurricane will eventually hit in Florida at sometime or another is actually factored into the premiums. And we don't expect that premiums will be appreciably affected by this.
It is important to know, I think, that -- excuse me -- that premiums are set, as I said, based upon that 20-year history of hurricanes.
COSTELLO: Right. So, you don't see premiums going up appreciably even after Charley, Frances and maybe Ivan.
BOCKMAN: State Farm is in the insurance business, Carol, and that's what we do. And we're prepared for this.
COSTELLO: I was talking specifically about the possible increase in costs in premiums and deductibles in light of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances.
BOCKMAN: To the best of my knowledge, there wouldn't be any appreciable increase in premiums as a result. But I'm in the claims business, Carol, not in the actuary business.
COSTELLO: All right. Larry Bockman with State Farm, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Let's head live to New York now to check in with Bill Hemmer and Kelly Wallace in for Soledad this morning.
Good morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: A lot to talk about. It's already shaping up to be a very business morning.
WALLACE: Another jam-packed morning ahead.
HEMMER: Yes. Good morning to you, by the way.
WALLACE: Good morning to you.
HEMMER: Campaign 2004, President Bush slamming Senator Kerry on Iraq. Cheney hitting back on Kerry as well. We'll talk to the Bush campaign adviser, Tucker Eskew. Also, Madeleine Albright for the Kerry camp will be our guest as well this morning.
WALLACE: Also, Bill, we had expected it to happen, but it happened yesterday, U.S. deaths in Iraq going over the 1,000 mark. We will talk to a photographer embedded with a company that has lost the most men. Some stunning pictures. You really won't want to miss that.
HEMMER: And in Florida, they're still dealing with Frances, and will perhaps until, what? The weekend?
WALLACE: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Maybe past that? So...
WALLACE: People might be without power until Friday.
HEMMER: Tough going. We'll have it all for you, Carol, at the top of the hour here, OK?
COSTELLO: All right, we'll see you in about, oh, 20 minutes.
HEMMER: OK. Bye-bye.
COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, up, up and away. Well, not quite. Could the rising cost of your child's college tuition be slowing down? Carrie Lee has the lowdown for you at 6:42 Eastern.
Then, healthy options for eating on the go or when you're sitting still, like you do at work at your desk. That's at 50 minutes past.
This is DAYBREAK.
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COSTELLO: Stocks are up. Let's get a check of the midweek markets. The Dow begins the day up 82 and a half points, the Nasdaq up 14, the S&P 500 up 7 and a half points.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Responding to last week's massacre of more than 300 hostages at a school in Beslan, Russia now says it is prepared to make preemptive strikes on what it calls terrorist bases anywhere in the world.
Israel is conducting a raid in Gaza. Huge Israeli bulldozers are piling through olive groves. The military says the operation is meant to prevent Palestinians from firing rockets into Israel.
In money news, what pro football team charges the most for tickets? Well, an annual survey finds the Super Bowl champs, New England Patriots, have the highest average price: $75.33 per seat.
In culture, Outkast's Andre 3000 is the man; of the year that is. He was named the international man of the year at the British GQ awards in London.
In sports, Robin is batman. Robin Ventura of the L.A. Dodgers hit his 18th career grand slam in an 8-2 win over Arizona that ties him for third on the all-time list. Lou Gehrig holds the record with 23.
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COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Right now, do you have breakfast in one hand and homework or a briefcase in the other? Then you're like a lot of Americans, multi- tasking at mealtime. Coming up, some pointers to make sure you don't sacrifice a healthy diet.
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MYERS: Wow! COSTELLO: Wow! What are you wowing over there?
MYERS: That was flying around over there.
COSTELLO: Got a minute? Probably not if you're like many Americans who often find themselves too busy to sit down and eat. But in your efforts to maximize time, you may be risking your health.
Joining us live from New York with more, our registered dietitian Lisa Drayer.
Good morning, Lisa.
LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Good morning, Carol.
And multi-tasking may be fine when it involves many activities, but when it comes to eating you might want to keep your meals separate from your to-do list.
Let's take a look now at some statistics from a new survey conducted by the American Dietetic Association and the ConAgra Foods Foundation: 62 percent of us say we are sometimes too busy to even sit down while we eat.
And when it comes to the activities that we're doing while we're eating on the go, 72 percent of us are running errands. Many of us are shopping for groceries, commuting, attending sports events. And 20 percent of us are shopping for clothes while we eat.
COSTELLO: We're eating.
MYERS: You can shop for groceries and eat at the same time?
DRAYER: You might not fit into the clothes. But when it comes to preparing meals, we're also multi-tasking, Carol. Nine out of 10 Americans say they multi-task while preparing food. The top three activities performed while preparing a meal include watching television; 73 percent of us watch TV while we eat. Seventy percent of us wash dishes, and 62 percent of us talk on the phone while we're preparing food.
And when it comes to desktop dining, this is very popular, but lunch is actually the meal that we most often eat at our desks, followed by snacks, breakfast and dinner. And the three most popular activities while eating lunch at work include working on the computer, reading and making phone calls.
Now, the danger, Carol, of all of this multi-tasking is that our hands are a carrier of bacteria. And bacteria can contaminate food and increase the risk of food-borne illness, especially if we don't wash our hands before we eat.
COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds so disgusting to me, Lisa, now that you bring that up. You know, I've always wondered about those office parties when the food has been left out for, oh, four hours, and your fellow employees have picked through them. How healthy can that be? DRAYER: Well, the best thing, Carol, is to ask how long the food has been sitting out. If it's been sitting out for more than two hours, it's probably a good idea to avoid it. And the reason is, bacteria grow most rapidly in food when it's kept out at room temperature for more than two hours. This is known as the danger zone.
And it's especially true with animal-based foods, like chicken or fish. You definitely want to err on the side of safety and skip that. This goes for any leftover lunch. Put it in the refrigerator right away. Don't let it sit during your conference call.
COSTELLO: And one more tip. Are there some foods that are safer to eat when you're multi-tasking than others?
DRAYER: Definitely. If you must multi-task, there are some options that are better in terms of safety and convenience. Let's take a look at these now.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that's a plant-based food, less of a risk than an animal-based food, like chicken or fish. Energy bars, meal replacements and shakes. A turkey or tuna sandwich is fine if you include an ice pack or a frozen juice box, which will thaw over the day. Bean soup or fruits, carrot sticks, soy chips and trail mix. But even with fruits, you want to clean the peels of bananas and oranges, because these can be a source of contamination as well.
MYERS: You wash your bananas?
DRAYER: Exactly. That's new advice now this year, Chad. Yes, wash those peels.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: I'm sorry, I've never -- I just peel it and eat it. I mean, I never wash a banana.
DRAYER: But your fingers...
COSTELLO: Well, you'll be washing your bananas now.
MYERS: I guess so.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Lisa.
We're going to take a short break. We'll be washing our bananas while you're away.
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MYERS: All right. Here we go. We're going to give away this coffee mug. I wasn't here yesterday to ask the questions, but we got some answers.
How old is the famous statue of David? Five hundred years old today. And what is the name of the signature building going up at the site of the old World Trade Center? And that's called the Freedom Tower.
And the winner, Delores Robinson from Rock Falls, Illinois, got them both right.
We're going to have two questions now, and you must, you must, answer them both and get them both correct.
Which state is going to be the first to use electronic voting with paper records? And then, according to Lisa Drayer, what percentage of people say that they're too busy to sit down and eat?
I found it funny -- and Daybreak@CNN.com to your answers there -- that 70 percent of the people were actually eating and talking on the phone at the same time.
COSTELLO: Well, I think...
MYERS: Aren't you supposed to not eat and talk? Don't you listen to your mother?
COSTELLO: If you're eating while grocery shopping, that was a weird one to me.
Daybreak@CNN.com. I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: See you.
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