Posted on Fri, Jan. 26, 2007

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Wind pool on table in Senate

House discusses bills to expand area along S.C. coast

By Zane Wilson

The Sun News

COLUMBIA - The coastal insurance crisis erupted on the floor of the state Senate Thursday, causing about an hour of sympathetic discussion when Sen. Ray Cleary filed three bills aimed at easing the problem.

And on Tuesday, a House subcommittee is holding hearings on the issue of rapidly-rising property insurance rates and inviting coastal homeowners to come to the capital and tell their story.

"We need to get some homeowners up here," said Rep. Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island, sponsor of one of the House bills.

Thursday's debate was a sign that the issue, aggravated by the threat of catastrophic hurricanes, has caught the interest of legislators from across the state.

"It's so important that we work together on it as a statewide issue," said Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg.

Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, said he wanted to co-sponsor Cleary's bills.

Cleary's bills are similar to proposals presented by Gov. Mark Sanford last week. They would expand the wind pool; offer free home inspections to show people how they can make their property safer; and tax-free reserve funds to encourage insurers to build reserves.

It's an issue for coastal property owners but one that will quickly envelop the state if the coastal economy is crippled by a slowdown in home sales and other side effects of insurance costs, said Cleary.

The wind pool, mainly a narrow strip along the coast, needs to be revised because it doesn't make sense, the Murrells Inlet Republican said. All of Hilton Head and Kiawah islands are included, for example, while "in Horry County we only get four blocks."

The insurance companies are ripping people off and wrongly canceling longtime customers, some senators said.

"The insurance industry just enjoyed its greatest profit year ever in history, despite Katrina," said Sen. John Land, D-Manning.

"I think it's wrong; I think it's unconscionable for the insurance industry to collect money for 20 years," and then as a more intense hurricane cycle appears to be looming, "just to start dumping that risk," said Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

McConnell said he and Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, had been working on legislation to address the issue. Cleary said he wanted to get the ball rolling because the legislative process takes so long.

"We need the hearings now," Cleary said.

Elliott said a staff attorney has been working on legislation for two months, comparing what is done in other states, and might have something ready next week.

"We were practically there," Elliott said. The proposal will probably incorporate some of Cleary's ideas as it moves through legislative study.

Some senators also criticized Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman, saying she told them last spring she would move the wind pool line, then that she could not.

Joel Sawyer, spokesman for Sanford, who oversees Kitzman, said the insurance issue is complex and the governor will work with legislators on a solution.

"Looking for a single scapegoat," such as Kitzman, is not a solution, Sawyer said.

Legislative issues meeting:

What | The South Strand Republican Club annual legislative breakfast

When | Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Where | The Inlet Affairs Banquet & Catering, 4031 U.S. 17 Business, Murrells Inlet

Speakers | Sens. Ray Cleary and Luke Rankin; Rep. Nelson Hardwick, Rep. Thad Viers and Rep. Alan Clemmons

What | Lawmakers will discuss issues such as insurance premium increases, Medicaid, taxes, educational funding, traffic evacuation, Interstate 73 and government restructuring. There will be a question-and-answer period after the legislators' comments.