A bill that calls for a surcharge on homeowner insurance policies across the state if a catastrophic storm wreaks havoc along the North Carolina coast was tentatively approved by a wide margin by the state House.
The bill, which must be voted on again before it moves to the Senate, calls for homeowners to bail out a state-created insurance plan known as the Beach Plan if a storm generates more claims than the Beach Plan can pay, David Ranii reports.
In that event, homeowners would be assessed a surcharge of up to 10 percent of their annual premiums.
Currently, insurers who offer homeowners policies can be assessed to cover damages the Beach Plan can't pay on a prorated basis, based on how much business they have in the state. Nothing in state law permits insurers to recover any of that money from their policyholders.
The bill proposes capping insurers’ exposure at $1 billion, which supporters — including the insurance industry — say is necessary to avoid insurers fleeing the state.
The bill was tentatively approved by an 89-27 margin.
Bill sponsor Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat, noted that, given the Beach Plan’s current surplus and level of reinsurance homeowners wouldn’t be liable for a surcharge until damages topped $2.4 billion.
So far, the most the Beach Plan has paid in claims for a single storm is $150 million.
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Re: House approves beach plan bailout
I'll ask my own inland insurance agent what this really means to me, an inland resident vs. what I read in this article.
Then, I'll decide what misfits in the GA to recommend voting out.