Program Says It Improves Insurers Public Image

Program Says It Improves Insurers Public Image

NU Online News Service, April 9, 11:23 a.m. EDT?A program that works to educate homeowners about home safety risks and gives them cash grants said its efforts are burnishing the image of insurers with community residents while drawing insurers to cover "riskier neighborhoods."

Seventy-seven percent of program participants, when surveyed, said their perceptions of the insurance industry had improved after receiving risk education from Loss Prevention Partnerships, the group said.

LPP is a demonstration project of the NeighborWorks National Insurance Task Force in Washington. NITF said the LPP program has now reached its midway point and shown tangible results. The LPP's goal is to educate homeowners about home safety and reduce insurance risk.

More than $1.6 million in aid has been given out by LPP, according to the Task Force.

NITF said five cities are participating in the program, each focusing on a specific peril: Chicago and St. Louis, fire; Staten Island, N.Y. water damage; Richmond, Va. and Denver, home theft and burglary.

The demonstration program includes an educational component in which residents are informed of ways to protect their investment and guard themselves against potential losses.

Each city site finances home-safety improvements for residents within targeted communities who need repairs and/or improvements to their properties. The LPP entails three years of programmatic activity, with an additional two years of data collection, the Task Force said.

NITF reported that during the first half of a data collection period, the program has educated 2,280 individuals in home safety seminars, conducted 839 home safety inspections, made 314 loans and grants home safety totaling $1.66 million.

NITF Director Todd Pittman said the pilot program has done a lot to strengthen relationships between insurers and community residents. "Insurers have become more involved in the communities, and residents' views of insurers have changed for the better."

Eighty-nine percent of LPP seminar graduates have taken steps to improve the overall safety of their homes, and most of those plan to take additional steps, according to the NITF.

Clayton Adams, vice president of community development for State Farm Insurance Companies and NITF chair, said through the program, "Insurers have come to feel more confident serving economically riskier neighborhoods when they are aware of the presence of a NeighborWorks organization or other community development corporation that works with residents to improve their communities. Reluctance to insure gives way to opportunities to penetrate new markets."

The program, which is conducted in partnership among NeighborWorks community development organizations and insurance representatives, is funded by the Ford Foundation, insurance companies and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Due to the success of the program, the NITF plans to expand it to other sites.

NITF said its membership comprises insurance companies, insurance industry trade associations, insurance regulators, educational institutions, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and the members of the national NeighborWorks network.

The Task Force said its annual Insurance Symposium and national meetings, part of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute, will take place Aug. 20-21 in Washington, D.C.

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., which founded and supports the national NeighborWorks network, is a public nonprofit corporation that supports neighborhood revitalization through increased homeownership, resident leadership training and development of decent affordable rental housing. Last year it generated approximately $1.7 billion in local investments.

he LPP Mid-program Report and information on participating in the National Insurance Task Force or the symposium is available at www.nitf.nw.org, Mr. Pittman at (404) 347-6203 or tpittman@nw.org.