Insurers bail out on coastal communities
On the eve of hurricane season home insurers are cancelling policies or refusing to write new ones in many coastal communities reports the Clarion Ledger.
Update: This past weekend the Washington Post put linked the cancellation of policies to an effort by many insurance companies to persuade the federal government to diversify risks: "'The fundamental dispute is over the role of government, and whether the government should or should not play a significant role in effectively helping to diversify the catastrophic risks that this country faces'" said Robert P. Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, the research arm of the industry."
Among other things the insurers are promoting toughened state builing codes, federal back up for state catastrophe funds and increased premiums.