Tackling the Affordable Insurance Crisis

Affordable insurance remains at crisis levels along the Gulf Coast. Insurance commissioners from across the region are gathering on the Coast to address the problem. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.

The Catastrophe Preparedness and Insurance Forum which opens today in Biloxi will try and tackle the affordable insurance crisis which has been plaguing the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina. Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says the affordable insurance issue is one of the major roadblocks to the recovery of the Gulf Coast and it’s a fact that is widely agreed upon,

“Insurance is generally available in the gulf coast area it is just not affordable. We have got to find a solution to the problem of affordability of insurance in the coastal areas of this country.”

Chaney says a solution can be found, but it is going to take hard work from both the private and public sectors,

“We are often looked at in saying the government should bail us out, but the government has a limited amount of money. Our goal is to find a long term solution to affordable insurance on the coast and the way you do that is through a public and private partnership.”

Issues expected to be addressed over the next two days include the benefits of the national flood insurance program, and how the restoration of the barrier islands may play a role in helping bring down insurance rates.