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  • S.C. home insurance plan grows - [mesothelioma]

    2008-08-08

    Tag：mesothelioma

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    Homes added to wind pool; tax incentives proposed
    By Seanna Adcox,
    Associated Press

     

     

    Columbia, S.C. | A state-run insurance program will reach more coastal homeowners grappling with skyrocketing premiums, and Gov. Mark Sanford and legislators promised a tax-incentive plan Thursday to help, too.

    The state-run program, known as the wind pool, was expanded Wednesday in Horry, Georgetown and Charleston counties.

    The move comes as insurers dump policies and raise premiums along the coast, leaving thousands of property owners uninsured or struggling to pay for protection in hurricane-prone areas.

    "This thing is spiraling out of control," said Insurance Department Director Scott Richardson, who ordered the wind pool expansion.

    Residents in some areas are seeing their premiums increase by 400 percent, he said. "We've never seen that in South Carolina," Richardson said.

    Sanford and legislators want to offer tax incentives and insurance discounts to residents who make their homes more hurricane resistant. Insurers could also receive tax credits by writing full-coverage policies along the coast.

    The legislation would provide tax credits to homeowners spending more than 5 percent of income on insurance, plus allow homeowners to put money in hurricane savings accounts exempt from state taxes, Sanford said during a news conference.

    Residents could use the accounts to offset very large deductibles, which would make policies cheaper, or forego insurance altogether and self-insure, he said.

    "The idea is giving consumers greater levels of choice for how they purchase insurance in South Carolina," the Republican governor said.

    The state-run program helps provide coverage in areas where private insurers don't offer protection.

    The expansion allows insurers to write policies that exclude wind damage. Homeowners can buy that protection under a separate wind pool policy, which costs about $2,000 for a $250,000 home, Richardson said.

    The wind pool was expanded beyond the existing sliver of land to include parts of several islands in Charleston County. The expansion most affects Myrtle Beach, where the wind pool line moves a few miles inland at most, Richardson said.

    "That's where the market's so messed up, there's no rhyme or reason," said Richardson, who resigned from his Senate seat last month to lead the agency.

    He redrew the lines after talking with insurance companies. He hopes the expansion will attract new insurers and help homeowners keep existing policies.

    Richardson did not know how many homeowners will be affected. But he hopes they see lower prices soon, perhaps even by hurricane season, which begins June 1.

    State law allows the insurance director to temporarily expand the wind pool for two years. A permanent expansion requires the General Assembly's approval.

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