Perdue signs coastal insurance bill

I am a life long Democrat and I do believe in spreading the cost of health care over a larger population; however, this surtax on all homeowners to spread the cost of catastrophic damages from hurricanes for WEALTHY BEACH homeowners is WRONG. Everyone needs healthcare, but not everyone can afford beach property!! Just my 2 cents!

Once you get off the barrier islands and the intracoastal, the people that live in "Beach" counties are hardly rich. There are far more "rich" in Charlotte and the Triangle.

Take a look at rural Pender and Onslow counties. You will be hard-pressed to find such poverty anywhere else. The "Beach Plan" is mandatory for everyone in the coastal counties because there are, in effect, no other options. Those same counties just this year were hit with a 30+% increase in their premiums.

The kicker? The building codes in the coastal counties are more stringent so they actually suffer less damage. The actuarial tables show that 74% of all the wind and hail claims come from the inland counties.

Look upon the beach plan as the "public option."

The property insurance companies are good people. They only want to help the homeowners and could care less whether they make money or not. They just want to help.

The health insurance people are bad. They only want to deny coverage and make money.

Always remember there are good insurance people and bad insurance people. Some insurance people sell both homeowner policies and health insurance. These people are two faced. Beware of them.

This bill will be good for the economy - along the lines of the "Cash for Clunkers Program." Now the beach real estate sales people can tell a prospective buyer, "And the citizens all across North Carolina will help out with your homeowner's insurance premium. We look out for our beach property owners. They are real special."

Any criticism of this law is based on lack of knowledge of the facts. This is a regional plan which covers the poorest familes who live an hour from the coast in the CAMA counties as well as everyone.
The 'beach' plan name is a slur which misrepresents the facts. Truth is the most widespread destruction from Hurricanes in North Carolina have been felt as far as Charlotte (Hugo) and a dozen others named storms which have entered through the gulf or through South Carolina and created a destructive path through Greensboro and Raleigh.
Unless we suddenly blop 3 million people on the coast, on a tight grid on a swamp, in a city below sea level like New Orleans, that scenario has no validity here. The facts are more storm claims are paid in the piedmont rather than the coastal plains! North Carolina is one state- the entire state enjoys the coast and history has proven the entire state as a likely target for storms.

More appropriately named the "son-of-a-beech" plan?

the Beach Plan, an insurance plan created by the state for people who can't get coverage elsewhere.

Doesn't this sound a bit like the Public Option in the health care debate?

Another problem with insurance companies. In health care, for profit companies will cover people until they are 65 and likely to really need coverage. (Not all, of course, they cull the sick as soon as possible.) Make big profits on that and then benefit from Medicare. We'd all be in a lot better shape if all that money people pay in from the start carried over instead of disappearing from the system.

On this the insurance companies said they'd leave if they didn't get a government guarantee on their profits. Yeah, sounds like Wall Street.

What are the profits of these companies and the salaries and benefits of their CEOs?

Dumpling, dumpling, dumpling....

So, if John Edwards' mansion get washed into the ocean, I get to help cover the insurance costs. Nice, very nice.

One and done for this moron. What were you people thinking when you voted for this woman. Geez, during the debates she was clueless!

I guess this is a good time to buy property on the beach, so I can have the rest of you pay up if I lose my property in a hurricane. Sounds like a great deal for those who can afford beachfront property. Probably those people have enough money to pay insurance that would cover the full costs of losses. The rest of us should not be removing the risk from beach front property - that will only encourage more development of the beach front, hence more to insure, hence the rest of us getting soaked with an even bigger bill for property we don't even own or get to use. Outrageous.

Oh Bev, get a clue! When I retire next year from State government, I am moving out of this state. I am tired of the State employees getting up the R_ _R, and having the state budget balanced on my back and then having to pay more in healthcare premiums and now unpaid furloughs. Whats next? Will I be charged for the power consummed by the lights over my desk? Toilet paper in the restroom? AND NOW YOU WANT ME to pay the insurance losses for some moron whom built a million dollar beach house on the coast. We have the highest Gas taxes on the east coast and rapidly deteriorating roads, Now we are going to be charged tolls to use roads in addition to high gas taxes, ridiculous property taxes on the same vehicle. And again the NC General Assembly raids the highway trust fund. As a state employee Bev, if I stole or took money or items under false pretenses I would be fired and prosecuted, so I hope you enjoy your run in Raleigh, LOOK at whats gaining on Mike Sleasly!

So I can go to the beach on my unpaid time off and pay some real estate speculator top $$$$ to stay in a house I insure. People complain about health care reform??? Well this insurance plan just screams of socialism.
Bev dear- can I get plane ride down there with some pols, I promise to get rid of any records I might keep about my travels?

Which one my rich beach cousins is gonna let me stay with them when I don't have a home cause I lost my state job. Bev must go!!!

Pretty soon Aunt Bev is going to be getting advertising and endorsement fees from BIC pens.

You should write that in an email to her office. But yea, North Carolina Democrats are usually just Republicans running as Democrats. They may tend to be slightly less homophobic and insane, but not by much.

The post states: "Legislators passed the new law amid warnings that some insurers would stop doing business in the state without a financial backstop."

Over in the health care debate this threat of 'pulling out' of NC would be called a "scare tactic."

Thanks, Bev! More welfare for rich beach owners and yet you could not see it in your heart to take care of state employees. I may have as well voted for your opponenent, you are a Democrat in name only! Shame on you Bev!