S.C.’s Richardson: Expand wind pool ‘a little’ along with tax breaks

South Carolina’s new state insurance director rejected calls for the broad expansion of the state’s wind pool program that offers coverage for hurricane-prone areas as called for by some legislators. He said a move such as that would cost many consumers more money.

Expanding the South Carolina Windstorm and Hail Underwriting Association would make it more competitive with private providers, said Scott Richardson, a former state lawmaker himself who was appointed by Gov. Mark Sanford last month to head the insurance department.

Richardson told a House insurance subcommittee the state agency was ready to expand the wind pool a little, but even a slight expansion should be accompanied by tax breaks for insurers and property owners who make homes more hurricane resistant.

Some insurers are currently dumping policies and raising premiums along the coast, leaving thousands of property owners uninsured in hurricane-prone areas. Others are struggling just to afford protection.

Richardson said the agency surveyed several large insurers and found expanding the wind pool would add $800 to $1,000 to premiums on a $250,000 home. Those premiums now run between $2,000 and $2,500.

“I’m not sure you would want to be on the other end of that phone call when that happens because you’re talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of people” that would see increases, Richardson said.

The former state senator told the panel the agency was talking with insurers that are no longer providing coverage along the Gulf Coast, where states have clamped down on rates and practices.

“We need to be very careful about what we do legislatively,” Richardson advised.

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