Homeowners' Insurance Bill Signed into Law

As any coastal homeowner can tell you, homeowners' insurance premiums were a hot topic of conversation over the last year. Many policies were not renewed and those that were renewed carried higher premiums. Most hard hit were condo complexes between Business 17 (Kings Highway) and the Intracoastal Waterway. State Legislature worked hard to remedy the situation. A temporary fix was put into place in March 2007. The wind pool line was expanded to the Intracoastal Waterway.

Recently, the House and Senate agreed on amendments to H.3820, the Omnibus Coastal Property Insurance Reform Act, making insurance reform permanent. The passage of this bill was a big "win" for the citizens of South Carolina's coast. Among other things, the bill would create catastrophe savings accounts, establish incentives for insurance companies to write additional policies in the wind and hail zone, expand the cancellation notice period and force insurers to reveal catastrophe models to the Department of Insurance. The Senate made the wind pool expansion that took place in March 2007 permanent. The bill was signed into law on Monday, June 11, 2007 by Governor Mark Sanford. Bill signing ceremonies were held in Myrtle Beach and Charleston.