For the first time since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the four hurricanes that struck Florida the year before, a diverse group of government officials from the Gulf Coast states and insurance industry leaders met to discuss how to handle such natural catastrophes going forward.

PIA National and the Florida Insurance Council together with PIA of Florida and PIA of Louisiana sponsored the forum entitled “Government and Insurance Markets: Achieving the Balance.” The forum consisted of two panels comprised of leaders in key positions in government at the federal and state level along with insurance industry leaders. It was held on June 26, 2007 in conjunction with the Florida Insurance Council’s 2007 Annual Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Marco Island, Florida.

“Government is seeking practical political solutions, while the insurance industry is seeking practical economic solutions,” said Brevik. “And the public is simply seeking practical policy solutions, so they can afford insurance policies.”

“I was talking to our President-elect in Louisiana Robert Page and he told me he had a young couple come in to buy insurance,” Brevik said. “The cost of insurance coverage on their basic starter home was about the same as their mortgage payment. That’s an economic condition that will kill the economy and kill the industry, so we really need to take a look at what we can do.”

Panel participants were:

Brian Marino, PIA National Director from Florida and Chair of the PIA National Natural Catastrophe Task Force; Dennis Cook, President of PIA of Louisiana; Chad Brown, deputy commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Insurance; Ed Conner, deputy assistant insurance director for insurance mitigation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Pam Pogue, Immediate Past Chair of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Panelists also included:

Dennis Burke, Vice President, State Relations for the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA); Robert Detlefsen, Vice President for Public Policy for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC); William Riker, President and Chief Underwriting Officer for Renaissance Re Holdings, Ltd.; State Rep. Don Brown (R-Florida), Chairman of the Florida House Insurance Committee; Rep. Ron Reagan (R-Florida); and Ray Spudeck, senior research economist with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Ideas from the PIA-Florida Insurance Council forum will be developed into various formats, then shared with state and federal legislators, regulators and industry leaders. A white paper along with video excerpts of the panel discussions will be released in early September. A statement summarizing the panel discussions will be released next week.

July 3, 2007