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Britain’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli was full of insight with his poignant anecdotes. He once summed up the political courage of one of his opponents by observing: “Our citizens are moving in the streets. And I must find out which way they are going, and get in front of them. For I am their leader.”

Property insurance rates have gone through the roof all over Louisiana ,and they will likely continue to climb. Yet for the past year, elected officials in Louisiana who could have made a difference have sat on the sidelines, oblivious to the intense outrage by the masses who want some rate relief.

Not so in other states. In Florida, the governor and the Legislature held several special sessions, injected over $700 million into their state-run property insurance company, and are in the process of completely revamping this state created entity. In Mississippi, significant state funding has been allocated towards a similar public plan, and the attorney general has worked with other state officials in aggressively intervening in lawsuits against insurance companies who failed to pay insurance claims.

But until recently in Louisiana, about the only solution suggested was to give a daily prayer for no more hurricanes. The state was forced to sell over $1 billion in bonds to finance the huge debt incurred by the publicly created Citizens Property Insurance Company. State officials tried to pawn off the problem as part of a natural disaster. But just as the damage to New Orleans was a man-made catastrophe because of levee design and construction failures, so was the massive damage caused by the incompetence of those running Citizens.

A combination of unqualified management, not one dime of capital and surplus, and completely inadequate reinsurance combined to create a no-win situation for every property owner in the state. It will take more 20 years to pay off the Citizens debacle.

What happens if there is significant additional destruction because of future hurricanes? Are there plans in the works to deal with such a problem? Other states are considering several options, including a state catastrophic fund that would be financed either through sales taxes or property taxes. Such a plan would be met with little support in Louisiana, but at least Florida is considering alternatives, while state officials in Louisiana shiver at the thought of peering into the future.

Former political prognosticator C B Forgotston, now deceased, had suggested either a tax credit or rebate which would stay on the books for as long as any excess tax is charged to the insurance policies of homeowners. This could be accomplished by a majority vote of the Legislature. From then on, the state general fund, presently a wash with over $1 billion of surplus, should pay the yearly Citizens indebtedness. The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana has come out strongly against such a proposal, saying any surplus funds should be used for other state needs. Their conclusion? “It is good politics, but not good policy.” But PAR is dead wrong here.

Taking property owners off the hook from not having to pay a penalty for the next 20 years should be done for one good reason. The Legislature and insurance regulators were negligent in not providing ample oversight to protect the same policyholders from an incompetently run and dramatically underfunded state created entity. Property owners should bear no responsibility for the incompetence of those entrusted to protect the public interest.

Louisiana State officials are also standing on the sidelines on the major issue of a national catastrophic fund. Louisiana led the charge back in the 90s in asking Congress to create an umbrella of support that would kick in following a major hurricane once the damage level reached $4.5 billion. The idea languished until Katrina hit. Legislators in Florida are now leading the charge, while insurance commissioners in several states have testified before congressional committees in Washington. Louisiana’s enthusiasm has been lackadaisical at best, with little more than lip service paid to such an idea by the state congressional delegation.

The bottom line? It looks like some Louisiana legislators are beginning to realize the depth of the problem, and are taking the lead in trying to find workable solutions to an extremely difficult problem. The governor is coming around and realizing that “the people are moving in the streets.”

Hurricane season is rapidly upon us. Will Louisiana be ready? Right now, the state has a long, long way to go.

 

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

 

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  Readers can also review books by Jim Brown and many others he has published by going to http://www.thelisburnpress.com.