Mississippi: NAMIC Joins Broader Coalition Seeking Statewide Building Code

NAMIC has now joined a broad-based Mississippi coalition that is seeking legislation to establish a statewide building code.

At a Jan. 4 meeting in Jackson, representatives of the insurance-based coalition that NAMIC already belonged to met with several building and public safety-related entities to forge agreement on a draft bill. It is similar in concept to the one enacted in Louisiana last fall.

Senior State Affairs Manager David Reddick said the draft bill is likely to face an uphill fight in the Legislature because some home builders and county supervisors are expected to oppose it. As well, Reddick noted that Gov. Haley Barbour has said he would prefer to see a building code bill that was limited to only the six Gulf Coast coasts most affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Under state legislative deadlines, the bill must be ready for introduction by Jan. 16 and must clear its first committee by Jan. 31.

Meanwhile, the Insurance Information Institute announced today that insurers in Mississippi are expected to pay $5.5 billion in claims from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an amount equal to all homeowner’s insurance premiums paid in the state since 1989 and nearly nine times the estimated $625 million in homeowner’s premiums paid last year.

Direct questions to NAMIC Senior State Affairs Manager David Reddick.

Posted: Monday, January 09, 2006 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Thursday, January 12, 2006 3:51:17 PM.

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We are 1,400 property/casualty insurance companies serving more than 135 million auto, home and business policyholders, with more than $196 billion in premiums accounting for 50 percent of the automobile/homeowners market and 31 percent of the business insurance market. We are the largest and most diverse property/casualty trade association in the country, with regional and local mutual insurance companies on main streets across America joining many of the country’s largest national insurers who also call NAMIC their home. More than 200,000 people are employed by NAMIC members.