New Jersey: Lawmakers Plan to Introduce Restrictive Coastal Bill

Legislation seeking to stop insurers from nonrenewing coastal insureds is expected to be introduced soon by two Atlantic County legislators.

Text of the proposed bill A-3147 is not yet available, but the Insurance Council of New Jersey reports that a summary of the legislation states that it would prohibit “nonrenewal of homeowners insurance policies based on proximity to water or risk of windstorm related claims."

The bill’s sponsors, Assemblymen John Amodeo and Vince Polistina, held a forum on coastal market insurance developments in July at which citizens aired complaints and concerns about insurers pulling out of coastal areas.

“The concerns expressed are exactly the same as we’ve seen in other coastal states, and once again the initial public policy reaction is a misguided attempt to tie insurers to business in coastal areas,” commented Paul Tetrault, Northeast state affairs manager for NAMIC. “We will work with ICNJ to ensure that New Jersey lawmakers understand that such a measure would only make market conditions worse by making such areas less attractive for insurers who would not be able to manage their books of business in line with the exposure.”

Direct questions to NAMIC State Affairs Manager Paul Tetrault.

Posted: Sunday, September 28, 2008 12:00:00 AM.

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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.