North Carolina Considers Capping Insurers’ Liability for Beach Plan Costs

A legislative committee looking at how to cover insurance claims after a big hurricane in North Carolina may recommend a cap on how much private insurers would be forced to pay.

The study panel scheduled its final meeting yesterday in Raleigh.

The insurance industry is worried how much it would have to pay to cover claims through a state-sanctioned insurance program in 18 coastal counties. The Beach Plan has said it’s prepared to meet $2.4 billion in claims. But the amount includes charging hundreds of millions of dollars in assessments to insurance companies.

A draft of recommendations before the panel would limit how much companies would have to pay without recouping the money from their policyholders statewide.

The panel’s final report will go to the Legislature.