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Chaney touts insurance improvements
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| By:ADAM NORTHAM, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer |
May 28, 2009 |
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WESSON - Updated insurance regulations will prevent a reoccurrence of the mass confusion and lawsuits filed by State Farm policyholders after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney.
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"We're ready," Chaney said following an address to Boys State at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. "We've changed our emergency response, the way companies write policies and the enforcement of those policies; making them specific. There will be no blindsides. (Companies are) going to write it and put it on your policy."
Chaney's discussion with Boys State comes less than one week before the start of the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which is predicted to produce nine to 14 names storms over the summer.
Chaney said the specific regulations would let homeowners know exactly what is covered on their policies, lessening the chances of a scenario on the Gulf Coast where thousands of residents were initially turned down after Katrina because of disputes over whether wind or water destroyed their homes.
The commissioner's examination of State Farm concluded last summer, finding no wrongdoing.
"The bottom line was we found nothing wrong with they had done," Chaney said. "They did a bunch of stupid stuff, but they didn't break the law. Insurance companies were not prepared for Katrina. It became a very complicated issue, and Katrina has probably changed our lives for a long time to come."
Financial recovery in Gulf Coast counties is still going on, Chaney said. He said about 75 percent of commercial claims have been restored, while 50 percent of residential claims have been restored.
The biggest problem, he said, is the current cost of insurance on the coast.
"Insurance on the Gulf Coast is equal to a year of mortgage," Chaney said. "People cannot afford to live on the Gulf Coast until we find out something to do with insurance costs."
Depending on how lawmakers shape the fiscal year 2010 budget this week, Chaney said his office may be able to ease those costs.
"There's hope it could go down," he said. "This morning at 10:30 I had $20 million extra in the budget for the wind pool, by 1 p.m. I lost it and by 3:30 p.m., I had it back."
After his address to Boys State, Chaney discussed the necessity of flood insurance. He said soon all the state's 82 counties would be members of the National Flood Insurance Program, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that allows for discounted flood insurance and makes member counties eligible for certain grants.
He said Lincoln County, which is one of only four counties in the state that are not NFIP members, should join the program. He said county supervisors' argument that few county residents live in the flood plains is a valid one, but those who do reside in a flood plain still need insurance.
"And, it will be cheaper because few people are in the flood plains," Chaney said.
Chaney also fielded political questions from the members of Boys State, which the rising high school seniors have asked of every guest speaker this week. He announced that he has started his own re-election bid and has begun holding fundraisers.
Chaney also shared his opinion on potential gubernatorial candidates in 2011. The obvious candidate is Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant.
"It's too early for him to get out in front... right now he needs to concentrate on being a good lieutenant governor," Chaney said.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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