Several insurance industry organizations recently testifiedbefore a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committeeregarding the government's role in preparing for natural disastersvia legislation.

Posed with the question, “Is America's Housing Market Preparedfor the Next Natural Catastrophe?” representatives from theNational Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), PropertyCasualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), American InsuranceAssociation (AIA), National Association of Mutual InsuranceCompanies (NAMIC), and the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokersof America (IIABA) prepared statements for the Subcommittee onHousing and Community Opportunity.

Alex Soto represented the IIABA before the Subcommittee onHousing and Community Opportunity and made the case that insuringagainst natural disasters is a national problem, that there is afederal role in natural disaster preparation, and thatCongressional attention is needed for several pieces of legislationthat have been introduced to deal with this issue (seesidebar).