Georgia: NAMIC Comments on Proposed ‘Wind Pool’

NAMIC has submitted comments on Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine’s proposal to create the Georgia Coastal Insurance Corporation.

Liz Reynolds, NAMIC’s Southeastern state affairs manager, indicated in her letter that while NAMIC “appreciates and applauds the commissioner’s desire to anticipate future needs relative to Georgia’s coastal risk exposure ... we are not certain it is necessary to create a completely new mechanism for that purpose.”

A NAMIC alert sent Dec. 10 urged member companies doing business in Georgia to comment on the plan as soon as possible.

The commissioner’s plan creates a separate organization within the Georgia Underwriting Association to fund and manage a fair-share participation by admitted property/ casualty insurers doing business in Georgia to make coverage available for natural disasters within the six coastal Georgia counties for both habitational and commercial properties.

As currently drafted, the proposal includes a participation plan that considers the current market share of each admitted company across Georgia’s non-coastal counties. In addition, there would be incentives for insurers that provide coastal coverage and disincentives for companies that do not “do their fair share.”

In her comments on the proposal, Reynolds questioned how “fair share” would be defined, asking if the term indicates policy count or exposure. Reynolds also pointed out that “rate adequacy, along with stronger building codes and better enforcement, must be an integral part of any effort to address future claims-paying ability for high-risk exposures such as coastal areas” and encouraged early discussion on those topics as well as reinsurance.

A GUA study committee will meet soon to assess and help develop the plan. “The GUA seeks thoughtful insight and recommendations,” says Georgia Insurance Information Service Executive Director David Colmans.

Direct questions to NAMIC State Affairs Manager Liz Reynolds.

Posted: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 10:13:16 AM.

Salary Survey: Discounts for Participation & Membership

(317) 875-5250 - Indianapolis | (202) 628-1558 - Washington, D.C.

Contact NAMIC | Press | Advertise | Sponsor

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.