Several high-profile natural disasters—tornadoes in Oklahoma,flooding in the Southeast and Midwest, and wildfires inColorado—kept catastrophe issues on the radar for many lawmakersthis session.

Mississippi

One of the most significant legislative victories regardingcatastrophe issues in 2014 was Mississippi's enactment of statewidebuilding codes. SB 2378 adopts certain nationally recognizedbuilding codes and standards as the statewide uniform constructioncode.

Starting Aug. 1, new construction will be fortified withmaterials that are better able to stand up to Mother Nature.Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney led the MississippiWindstorm Mitigation Council, which was created during the 2011legislative session to a comprehensive and coordinated approach forwindstorm mitigation. The mitigation council reviewed the needs andrecommended a statewide minimum code during the 2013 legislativesession. Lawmakers passed the bill this year.

Alabama

SB 254 authorizes credits to be taken against insurance premiumtaxes due and owing for private property insurance carriers whowrite full coverage homeowners' insurance policies for residencescovered by the Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association. Zoneswhere credits are available conform to the coastline in Baldwin andMobile counties. Credits of 20% to 35% of premium taxes otherwisedue are available based on proximity to coastal areas.

Florida

Sent to the governor, SB 1672 prevents the state-run CitizensProperty Insurance Corp. from offering new multi-peril policies tocondominiums and apartments. The legislature also passed a measurethat eases regulatory burdens for private insurers to provideprimary flood insurance coverage as an alternative to the NationalFlood Insurance Program.

Connecticut

Connecticut lawmakers advanced legislation intended to addressconcerns that property owners in coastal areas may have difficultyin securing coverage. HB 5502 prohibits insurers from refusing torenew or issue homeowners' policies because the insured has failedto install or have storm shutters on the premises. The bill alsoprohibits the declination, cancellation or nonrenewal ofhomeowners' policies due to any loss resulting from one or morecatastrophic events. The bill expands the time to bring suit underthe standard fire policy from 18 to 24 months. At press time, NAMIChas asked Gov. Dannel Malloy to veto the legislation.

Colorado

Following the massive floods in Colorado last summer, as well asconcern about the dumping of vehicles from Hurricane Sandy in 2012,Colorado lawmakers passed HB 1100, which was designed to protectagainst title washing. This proposal has broad support. It requiresa branding on the title of any vehicle that has flood damage andany vehicle that comes into Colorado from out of state—including aflooded vehicle—must maintain its branded title. HB 1100 was signedby Gov. John Hickenlooper and becomes effective Aug. 6.