Members of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators were unable to bring a resolution in support of a natural catastrophe backstop system to a vote today, and will continue to debate the issue at the group's next meeting in July.

The subcommittee chairman, Florida State Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, noted in bringing the resolution up for debate that he has been making the effort to get a resolution passed “for about six years now,” and added jokingly that “it seems to be that we'll pass it out of the subcommittee when the Messiah comes.”

Even prior to the resolution coming up on the agenda, New York State Sen. William Larkin, R-Cornwall on Hudson, said he was “deeply concerned” about the resolution, which he saw as “reaching out” from the traditional NCOIL method of producing model acts that all states could decide to pass for themselves.

The resolution, he argued, was effectively designed to help the more hurricane-prone coastal states such as Florida. “I don't think NCOIL should be endorsing something so state-specific,” he said. “I just think we're out of line.”

The resolution, Sen. Geller noted, closely resembles legislation sponsored by Reps. Ron Klein, D-Fla., and Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., which was passed by the House last year and would allow states to pool their catastrophic risk and provide low-interest or interest-free loans to states.

That proposal, which has yet to be acted on in the Senate, drew criticism from members of the House from less catastrophe-prone states.

Just as the sponsors of the federal bill did, Sen. Geller pointed out that much of the country is vulnerable to major natural disasters of one form or another, many of which would far surpass the costs of hurricanes striking Florida.

The most costly hurricane strike, he noted, would actually be nowhere near Florida, but along the lines of the “Long Island Express” that struck in the 1930s. Although that storm did not strike New York City exactly, Sen. Geller noted that should a hurricane follow a track only slightly deviated from that storm, it would cause major damage to Manhattan and parts of New Jersey that could total as much as $250 billion.

“We need to recognize, and I know some people don't want to, that there are certain mega-disasters that no state can deal with,” he said.

Sen. Geller added that different states can withstand different levels of catastrophe. While a $50 billion storm loss would be a major event in Florida, he noted, a loss of only $5 billion would have an equal effect on North Dakota.

Ultimately the committee agreed to postpone further consideration on the resolution until the next NCOIL meeting, but Sen. Geller made sure to block out 90 minutes for discussion and a possible vote, as opposed to the 45 minutes the committee had allotted today. He said that though he is being “turned out” in November due to term limits, he “will not go gently into that good night” on the issue.

Special Reports /

Cat Measure Stalls At NCOIL

Related Stories

Recommended For You