NU Online News Service, Jan. 31, 11:23 a.m.EST

Officials with the Mississippi Windstorm UnderwritingAssociation are in London this week looking for reinsurancedeals.

The association, also known as the wind pool, is the insurer oflast resort for coastal property owners who are unable to obtaincoverage in the open insurance market.

Reinsurance – essentially, insurance for insurers – protects theboard from debilitating claims, such as 2005's Hurricane Katrina.It also helps hold premiums down.

Wind pool board member Mark Cumbest tells the Mississippi Press(http://bit.ly/xxfcC6) that the association sends its board memberson trips each year to meet with the reinsurance market's majorplayers, who are concentrated in London and Bermuda.

The wind pool covers about 46,000 residences in Jackson,Harrison, Hancock, George, Stone and Pearl River counties.

“The cost of reinsurance is the major expense of the wind poolin a non-storm year,” said Cumbest, who owns Cumbest Realty inJackson County. “It is the major driver of the cost of insurancefor wind pool customers.”

For the 2011 storm season, the wind pool purchased $815 millionin reinsurance for $69 million. In 2010, the board paid the sameamount for $750 million in reinsurance.

“Last year we were able to purchase more reinsurance than theyear before for the same money,” Cumbest said. “Pricing will bevery important this year. We will make our best effort to providethe information they need in order to get the best pricing andcoverage possible.”