A New York State senator drafting legislation to create a state catastrophe fund hopes to have a measure ready to introduce by the beginning of next year, his spokesman said today.
Work on the bill will include continuing discussions with insurance groups, said Jim Kirkwood a spokesman for State Sen. Michael Balboni, R-Williston Park, who heads the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs.
Mr. Balboni heard from insurance groups concerning his concept of creating a CAT fund during a hearing Wednesday concerning the state's preparedness for natural and manmade disasters.
In addition to conferring with insurer organizations, Mr. Kirkwood said it was possible that Sen. Balboni will talk with modeling firms. "He wants to get as much information as he can," explained Mr. Kirkwood.
He said Mr. Balboni is also waiting to see what Congress does concerning a renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which is due to expire at the end of the year. The senator, in the process of drafting the measure, is "looking at all kinds of catastrophes" and wants information on how such a fund affects the marketplace and the state as a whole.
Representatives from the American Insurance Association (AIA) and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) spoke at the hearing.
Michael Moran, a spokesman for AIA said the group currently has a neutral position on the bill because a draft version omits much detail and has "no specificity as to retention levels, whether per company or industry aggregate, per event or per season."
Mr. Moran noted that national insurers buy catastrophe reinsurance on a countrywide basis and AIA wonders whether the proposed fund would be redundant.
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