This number comes from a study completed by Milliman Inc. and presented by ProtectingAmerica.org. There is legislation in Congress on the verge of possibly being enacted. According to David Apell, principal and director of economic consulting for Milliman, “State-by-state savings would vary according to a number of factors, including the likelihood of a natural catastrophe, population density and the value of residential property.”
The savings could be significant considering “annual savings per household in California would average $256; Louisiana, $224; North Carolina, $132; and Oregon, $127.” The legislation is not intended to bail out the insurance industry but according to Kenneth Reeves of AccuWeather.com “such comprehensive catastrophe preparation and protection programs are “critical to the nation.”
Reeves went on to say:“'As the population expands and continues to gravitate to the nation’s coastline, catastrophic weather events such as hurricanes will have an ever-greater impact on some of the most densely populated regions of the country.' He cited New Jersey and New York’s Long Island as some of the highly-populated areas that have been spared up until now, despite the current up-cycle of strong hurricanes.”
The latest big hurricane-force storm here in New England was really able to lead me to the conclusion that homeowners' insurance is a godsend when you need it... we lost our roof in the storm, and without coverage our home (and its contents) would have been completely decimated.
However, I can see why people tend to want to move to the coasts... I can't imagine living too far from the ocean!
Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com
Posted by: Jerry | May 17, 2007 9:34 PM | Permalink to Comment