A New York insurance agents group said it planned to tell state legislators tomorrow that there needs to be standardization among insurers of the triggers for windstorm deductibles.
The remarks by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) were to be delivered at a public hearing of the New York State Senate Insurance Committee on Long Island, an area where insurers have been limiting coverage.
IIABNY said it will tell the panel that homeowners on Long Island and throughout the New York Metro area are facing a serious problem finding insurance due to a lack of insurance capacity along the coast. The proceedings are scheduled for 10 a.m. at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, N.Y.
The association said it will send its chair of the board, Stephen R. Zogby, along with four Long Island agents to present testimony.
Tim Dodge, IIABNY director of research and external communications, said IIABNY will offer several suggestions to alleviate the problems that have faced the market since some insurers limited their exposure in lower New York after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Dodge said that IIABNY will call for:
o Allowing insurers to set aside reserves for future catastrophe losses on a favorable tax basis.
o Creation of an actuarially sound national catastrophe fund.
o Permanent status for the New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association (NYPIUA), which is New York's FAIR plan insurer of last resort.
o Recognition by regulators of the use of computer catastrophe models for rate development.
o More flexibility in the degree and timing of rate changes for homeowners insurance.
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