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PR pros give insurance companies low grades post-Katrina. (Focus: Insurance & Employee Benefits)).(PR pros give insurance companies low grades post-Katrina. (Focus: Insurance & Employee Benefits))

Article Excerpt
Mississippi public relations professionals give low grades to the insurance industry for how it has handled the post-Katrina challenges in Mississippi.

"I give them an 'F,'" says Reed Guice, CEO of The Guice Agency, Biloxi. "Here's the thing. As a public relations professional, my number one directive to my clients and to myself is to always tell the truth. And it appears to me that many of the insurance companies in their statements to the press have either used half-truths or outright lies. That has caused the media to become very skeptical of anything the insurance industry has to say.

"As an advertising professional, it is interesting for me to see their advertising messages, which are in stark contrast to reality. Nothing will kill a product faster. Good neighbor? Give me a break."

What would he do differently if he was representing an insurance company? Guice says until...