A National Catastrophe Fund that would provide assistance for insurance claims in Florida has been endorsed by Tom Gallagher, Florida’s CFO. The CFO’s recommendations came after officials, including Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, met last week in San Francisco at a National Catastrophe Insurance Summit and recommended the fund’s establishment.
The officials met to discuss the development of a program that would help provide coverage for the entire nation in the event of catastrophes.
After that meeting, Gallagher told the Vero Beach Press-Journal that he advocates several federal and state solutions and the creation of a national catastrophe fund. U.S. Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite and Clay Shaw of Florida recently introduced legislation to create such a fund.
The federal legislation encourages states to establish catastrophic funds to prepare for natural disasters. States’ catastrophic funds would then be backed up by a federal fund named the Consumer Hurricane and Earthquake Protection Fund. The fund, administered by the U.S. Treasury, would share the cost of catastrophic losses after states’ catastrophe funds had been exhausted.
As part of a multi-faceted package to address insurance issues, Gallagher advocates federal and state solutions.
At the federal level, Gallagher told the Press-Journal he is urging Congress to establish a national catastrophe fund and to create individual catastrophic savings accounts to allow homeowners to save tax-free for deductible and storm recovery costs.
He is also recommending that Congress pass legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who represents much of the Treasure Coast, to allow the accumulation of tax-deferred catastrophic reserves by insurers.
On a state level, Gallagher is asking the legislature to earmark the sales tax revenue collected from hurricane recovery to help offset assessments against homeowners. Gallagher also called for standardizing Florida’s building code statewide and capping coverage of homes at $1 million or less in Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s insurer of last resort.
The National Catastrophe Insurance Summit was hosted by California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, New York Superintendent of Insurance Howard Mills, and Illinois Insurance Director Kevin McRaith, as well as leaders from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
After that meeting, Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher is advocating several federal and state solutions and the creation of a national catastrophe fund. U.S. Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite and Clay Shaw of Florida recently introduced legislation to create such a fund.
The federal legislation encourages states to establish catastrophic funds to prepare for natural disasters. States’ catastrophic funds would then be backed up by a federal fund named the Consumer Hurricane and Earthquake Protection Fund. The fund, administered by the U.S. Treasury, would share the cost of catastrophic losses after states’ catastrophe funds had been exhausted.
As part of a multi-faceted package to address insurance issues, Gallagher advocates federal and state solutions.
At the federal level, Gallagher is urging Congress to establish a national catastrophe fund and to create individual catastrophic savings accounts to allow homeowners to save tax-free for deductible and storm recovery costs.
He is also recommending that Congress pass legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who represents much of the Treasure Coast, to allow the accumulation of tax-deferred catastrophic reserves by insurers.
On the state level, Gallagher is asking the legislature to earmark the sales tax revenue collected from hurricane recovery to help offset assessments against homeowners. Gallagher also called for standardizing Florida’s building code statewide and capping coverage of homes at $1 million or less in Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s insurer of last resort.
Topics Florida Catastrophe USA Legislation Hurricane Homeowners A.J. Gallagher
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