Sun Hearld: Wind Bill Foes Shock Taylor

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Wind bill foes shock Taylor

By Maria Recio

The Obama administration has quietly told Congress that it "strongly opposes" federal wind insurance legislation — surprising a Mississippi Democratic lawmaker who lost his home to Hurricane Katrina and who has spent more than two years fighting for wind coverage.

A shell-shocked U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay St. Louis, said he learned just a few days ago that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency director nominee Craig Fugate had written lawmakers in opposition to his legislation.

"I'm obviously extremely disappointed that an administration that ran on ‘change you can believe in' did this without taking the time to talk to us," Taylor said.

"I'm particularly angry that they're bailing out AIG but when it comes to the excessive cost of wind coverage, they're not helping the people of coastal areas," he said. AIG is one of the nation's largest insurers.

Taylor settled a lawsuit with State Farm Insurance over compensation for wind damage to his waterfront home which was left a slab after the 2005 hurricane.

The legislation would permit homeowners who participate in the federal national flood insurance program to purchase wind coverage at actuarially set rates.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. has been a strong backer of the legislation, which passed the House last session by a wide margin as part of the flood insurance reauthorization. However, it failed in a lopsided 74-19 Senate vote last spring.

In the first — and seemingly — definitive signs of the Obama administration's position on the issue, Napolitano wrote House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., on April 24 that private coverage was available and that a federal wind program would be too costly for the debt-ridden flood insurance program.

Fugate, Florida's director of emergency management, made the same points in written responses to questions from the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which confirmed him last month. He is now awaiting Senate confirmation after Sen. David Vitter, D-La., lifted his hold on Fugate on Monday after resolving other Katrina-related issues.

"I oppose extending the federal government's role and increasing its liability for an insurance program that is readily available in the private sector and through state insurance plans," said Fugate. "Many carriers in Florida have told the state's insurance regulator that they would write the wind policies of insures withdrawing from the state."

Taylor, however, is not giving up and wants to meet personally with Napolitano. "Hopefully, they'll take a look at it. It's possible some Bush hold-overs have poisoned the well," he said.

"I've just got to believe they're not in touch with coastal homeowners. This is the right thing we're pushing for."

Taylor has the support of his state's Republican senators.

"After leading the effort last year in the Senate to add multiple peril coverage to the NFIP, I remain committed to finding a solution to the insurance problem on the Coast. It is unacceptable for the administration to say the status quo is adequate," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. "The president needs to be part of creating a solution."

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., continues to support Taylor, according to spokesperson Margaret McPhillips.

"It is essential that Congress find a way to provide adequate wind and water insurance to home and business owners on the Gulf Coast who are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina," said McPhillips. "Sen. Cochran will continue to work to determine the best course of action for providing a way for residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast to have access to full hurricane insurance protection."

But a coalition of groups opposed to the plan, Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy, welcomed the Obama Administration's position.

"We agree with FEMA Director-Designate Craig Fugate that adding wind coverage to the NFIP is a bad idea," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, a member of the coalition. "Congress should instead focus its attention and resources on making communities more resilient to storms by investing in the protection and restoration of wetlands, floodplains, and barrier islands."

Homeowners in hurricane-prone states like Florida, the Carolinas and Texas have found wind coverage either expensive or impossible to find, forcing many states to form wind pools, or, in the case of Florida, a state-owned insurance provider.

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