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In the aftermath of Katrina "insurance stands in the way"

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX By The Bay, Daphne Alabama

That was today's headline in the Mobile Register Insight page: "Insurance stands in the way."

U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi) wrote yet another op-ed piece about the cost of homeowners insurance hampering rebuilding in Coastal Mississippi.

In coastal Alabama, the scene is little different. Yes, we have beaches and bayfront properties, but largely the elevation is high above sea-level. But the majority don't live on those high-priced pieces of waterfront.

Imagine telling a first-time homebuyer of a modest $150,000, 1800 square foot home that his homeowners' insurance will cost $250 a month or $3300 a year. There's no water view and the house is probably a hundred feet above sea-level. Shallow Mobile Bay is about a mile away and it's this fact that allows the insurance companies to gouge people 4 years after Katrina.

Finding adequate insurance -- not to mention affordable insurance -- is now a pre-printed contingency in our contracts. Deals are falling apart because insurance is too high. Some homeowners are stretched beyond their means because insurance rates continue to creep up.

People are afraid to make a claim for fear that they are dropped.

How many years do we continue to pay for this natural disaster on the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and the largest man-made disaster ever in New Orleans?

Rep. Taylor writes: "By shifting their corporate costs to the American taxpayers, insurance companies essentially gave themselves a government bailout to the tune of billiions of dollars while simulanteously recording billions in profits.

"The industry posted $44 billion in 2005 and $66 billion in 2006."

It seems that the sentiment is that if you're lucky enough to be near the water, then you're rich and you can pay for it. Rep. Taylor points out that 55 percent of Americans live withing 50 miles of some form of coastline.

Too bad all our 50 state capitals and the Governor's Mansions aren't sitting there with a water view. Maybe things would change.

 

 

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Janet English

RE/Max By The Bay

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Comments (1)

Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros

This is a real problem especially where you are and in Florida. I do not know the answer to it. Where you are it is surprising that they are so high when you are above sea level

Aug 30, 2009 02:58 AM