Question: With hurricane season underway, the TV news channels have run several specials on preparedness, reminding us to stock up on essentials. But, as I pay my annual insurance premium each year, I wonder: Does the insurance commissioner feel without a doubt that the insurance companies licensed here in Hawaii have sufficient funds to handle a disaster on Oahu as well as the neighbor islands? Also, what is the current policy regarding the state hurricane fund? I recall I paid into that fund, but am not sure what is left and who benefits should a hurricane hit the islands again.
Answer: There currently are 21 insurers either writing stand-alone hurricane coverage or issuing homeowners policies that include hurricane coverage, said state Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito.
"Many insurers are prepared to cover Hawaii’s policyholders up to a probable maximum loss, such as a 1-in-100- or 200-year storm," he said.
Ito encouraged people to review their insurance policies to make sure their home and belongings are adequately covered.
He also encourages homeowners to use the state Insurance Division’s premium comparison guide to see what their insurer is charging, compared with other companies. (Go to cca.hawaii.gov/ins to download a free copy.) "This will give (homeowners) a better idea of what to expect when shopping around for better rates," Ito said.
Hurricane Relief Fund
Meanwhile, the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund is ready to be restarted if people are unable to find hurricane insurance after a severe storm, Ito said.
The state Legislature created the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund in 1993, after Hurricane Iniki devastated the islands the year before and insurers, facing claims of more than $1 billion, folded, left the state or stopped issuing new policies.
"After Hurricane Iniki many insurers stopped writing hurricane policies, and as a result many people were forced to buy surplus lines insurance (basically, from an insurer not licensed in the state) at very high prices," he said. "We don’t want this to happen again since banks require hurricane coverage for mortgage loans, and high premiums could have an adverse effect on the housing market."
The fund initially was fed by insurance premiums, special mortgage recording fees and annual insurance company assessments.
When it shut down in 2002, after insurers returned to the Hawaii market, it had $220 million and was meant to be available if needed again. However, the state raided it in recent years to make up shortfalls in the operating budget.
Currently there is $126 million in the fund, Ito said, with an additional $55 million expected to be returned from the state general fund in the next year.
Mahalo
To Straub Hospital and its doctors, nurses and support staff for saving our son’s life and making it possible for him to return to Australia
to be with his loving family. Just hours after arriving for a holiday with his wife and two sons on May 28, Matthew Lowe was admitted in critical condition to Straub and found to have necrotizing fasciitis. Only because the doctors had the capacity to identify this insidious disease immediately was Matt able to receive the attention that nowhere else in the world he could have received. He was on life support for nine days. Everyone at Straub was so devoted and concerned, they made us feel like family — even the cafeteria staff became our friends. And, yes, the hospital food was great. You Americans are about the best bunch of people anyone could ever meet. Matt was finally flown by air ambulance back to Australia for skin grafts and is on the way to recovery. Even after such an ordeal and only seeing a hospital ward for his entire stay, it is his ambition to return to Hawaii for a holiday with his family and be able to walk into Straub Hospital to shake the hands of the staff responsible for saving his life. We are forever in your debt, Straub Hospital and Hawaii. — Kerry and Michele Lowe
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