Coastal insurance: Lawmakers shouldn't make Upstate cover the cost or turn back restructuring

Businesses and homeowners along the coast are facing dramatically higher insurance rates and, in some cases, an inability to get insurance.

Lawmakers should work to make insurance more affordable along the coast, but they should not spread that cost across the entire state or create a new elected position.

Because of insurance losses due to hurricanes over the past few years, insurance companies have been raising rates in coastal counties and even dropping coverage to reduce their risk.

Businesses and homeowners are asking the General Assembly to take action on their behalf. Some of the ideas proposed may be helpful.

Gov. Mark Sanford proposes allowing businesses and homeowners to save money on a pre-tax basis that they could use to pay for insurance. They could also use this money to build a reserve fund for repairs so they could afford a less expensive policy with a higher deductible.

Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, wants to create a new state-owned institution that could provide insurance to state residents.

But McConnell's proposal would also take away the governor's authority to appoint the state insurance commissioner, making that an elected position.

South Carolina already has too many statewide elected offices and a fractured executive branch. Elections for insurance commissioner would get as much attention from voters as those for agriculture commissioner.

Coastal business leaders are urging the governor to expand the state's wind pool, an area of the state where property owners can get last-chance insurance from an association of insurers issuing policies in the state.

Sanford objects to this course because it would mean forcing the entire state to subsidize insurance rates along the coast.

Coastal interests have argued that the Midlands and the Upstate should share the cost because of the tax money the tourism industry brings to the state.

But insurance rates are part of the cost of doing business along the coast and owning waterfront property. Upstate residents help subsidize the tourism industry through their travels to the beach.

Lawmakers should help lower insurance costs along the coast but not by making the rest of the state pay for this insurance and not at the cost of further fragmentation of the executive branch.