Insurance Politicized

Other than sympathize, Moore can do no more for condo owners than Sanford

As two letters on today's editorial page suggest, galloping premiums for condominium buildings in the coastal region are more than an economic issue for local condo dwellers. This issue has become politicized - with possible negative consequences for Gov. Mark Sanford in the Nov. 7 election.

The condo owners are upset that traditional state-regulated insurance carriers have stopped insuring condo buildings on and near the S.C. coast. The state doesn't regulate the nontraditional carriers that write such policies at rates condo owners consider outrageously high - as much as seven times higher than the rates insurers charged for such policies in previous years.

Under current state rules, there really isn't much the S.C. Department of Insurance can do to force down premiums for these good folks. The state can't compel regulated insurance carriers to resume writing condo insurance. Nor can it compel unregulated carriers to slash the premiums for their policies.

SCDI Director Eleanor Kitzman, a Sanford appointee, said as much to the large crowds of condo and business owners who attended two local forums into the issue late last month. She did pledge to expand the coastal windpool boundaries inland to the waterway, making wind insurance more affordable between there and the ocean. But many of the condo complexes beset with high premiums lie west of the waterway.

Sanford seems disinclined to engage with coastal condo owners on the issue. That's no surprise, given his conservative dislike for excessive state regulation and his belief in free markets. There is little he can do about the problem without compromising his principles and looking hypocritical.

This isn't a problem for his more populistic Democratic challenger on Nov. 7, S.C. Sen. Tommy Moore. Moore this week blasted Sanford for his perceived indifference to the plight of coastal condo owners. On Thursday, he met with condo owners in North Myrtle Beach to encourage them to turn to him - and away from Sanford - for answers. This has potential to be a powerful campaign ploy.

Sanford is still the favorite to carry heavily Republican Horry County on Nov. 7. But Moore's willingness to tackle high insurance premiums could erode Sanford's support here. Many condo owners are socially conservative Republicans - values voters, as political gurus call them. But this issue has potential to make such voters put their pocketbooks ahead of their values - especially considering that Moore is a family values man from way back.

None of this is to endorse Moore's I-feel-your-pain campaign tactics. Again, the state can't force insurance companies to write low-premium policies here. It's hard to imagine how the state could drive down coastal condo association premiums without subsidies from inland S.C. residents to avoid driving insurance companies out of the state.

Indeed, even the larger coastal windpool that Kitzman promised could drive up rates statewide, if future coastal storm losses are high. Inland residents - and their legislators - are certain to ask why the state should buy down premiums for folks who choose to live near the coast.

Local condo owners have good reason to feel gratitude for Moore's show of caring, given Sanford's diffidence on the issue. But he can't do any more than Sanford can to lower their insurance rates near term, and they shouldn't be lulled into thinking otherwise.