In a cynical ploy to gain votes in Florida, the Republican Party added a vague plank to its platform calling for a "natural disaster insurance policy," a week after the Democrats came out for a federally-backed catastrophe fund.

Is it a coincidence the Republicans hastily tacked on innocuous language about an unspecified "policy" right after Hurricane Gustav nearly hammered New Orleans--just three years following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina? I don't think so, especially with Hurricane Hanna and two additional windstorms on a collision course with the U.S. coast at the time.

While catastrophe-prone states need all the support they can get, the problem is that it's not at all clear exactly what the Republican Party wants to do. "Americans hit by disaster must never again feel abandoned by their government," the platform pontificates. "The Katrina disaster taught a painful lesson: The federal government's system for responding to a natural calamity needs a radical overhaul."

They certainly got that right. But what's their solution? On insurance, all the Republican platform offered is a throwaway line, an IOU, a "we'll get back to you after we're elected" statement. "We recognize the need for a natural disaster insurance policy," the party said, but what does that mean?

Indeed, the flip use of the phrase "insurance policy" in its platform shows the Republicans did not put much thought into exactly what they were promising. As any underwriter, agent--or, for that matter, consumer, knows--a "policy" is something you buy to cover against a loss.

But in this case, I think the Republicans were talking about a broader policy, as in an approach of some sort--most likely without any direct involvement by Uncle Sam--as opposed to an actual insurance contract offering disaster coverage.

The Democrats, on the other hand, were far clearer in their platform, approved the week before.

"We will develop a National Catastrophic Insurance Fund to offer an affordable insurance mechanism for high-risk catastrophes that no single private insurer can cover by itself for fear of bankruptcy," the Democrats vowed. "This will allow states and territories to deal comprehensively with the economic dislocation of natural disasters."

Complicating matters is the fact that the Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, insists he will not support any spreading of exposures nationally--at least not with the federal government's backing.

"John McCain needs to explain why he is saying one thing and his party is saying something else. It's clearly not in sync with his position," Rep. Ron Klein, D-Fla., told the Miami Herald. "Florida voters will not be satisfied with a mere nod to catastrophe insurance."

Rep. Klein--co-author of the Homeowners' Defense Act of 2007, which would create a national insurance fund--knows Floridians and others facing natural disaster threats are being patronized by the Republican Party's token gesture, but will the voters of cat-prone states get the message? It is up to local lawmakers, media outlets and those campaigning on the Democratic platform to get the word out.

The big question remains, what difference will this dispute make on Election Day? The next president will play a critical role in shaping the disaster insurance market. Rep. Klein's bill--passed by the House, but stalled in the Senate--has a presidential veto threat sealing its fate. A change in parties at the White House would alter the political calculus overnight.

But will the need for affordable disaster insurance be enough to swing Florida to the Democrats? Stay tuned!

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