ProtectingAmerica.org leads chorus of support among national governors and others at Mississippi insurance forum and National Association of Governors meetings in Biloxi

July 21, 2009

ProtectingAmerica.org national director Edward T. Collins joined a chorus of America’s governors, members of Congress and state regulators in emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and integrated national catastrophe program to better prepare and protect consumers from natural catastrophe and make insurance more available and affordable for homeowners.

'I applaud Commissioner Chaney for bringing together experts and calling for action. It is critically important to strengthen America's financial infrastructure and begin to build a privately-funded backstop now so we don't have to rely on another taxpayer-funded bailout when the next major storm or earthquake hits.'

Mr. Collins was on a panel with Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS), addressing one of the most critical issues facing the nation today – the ability to assure American families, and the taxpayers in general, that sufficient resources will be available to repair, rebuild and recover in the aftermath of the next enormous earthquake, sweeping hurricane or other massive natural catastrophe.

Collins’ panel appeared before the 'Catastrophe Preparedness and Insurance Forum' organized by the Mississippi Department of Insurance in conjunction with the National Governors Association (NGA) annual meeting held in Biloxi, MS on July 17, 2009. In addition to Taylor, the event featured Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, as well as insurance commissioners from coastal states throughout the Gulf region.

'One thing was crystal clear,' Collins said.  'A consensus is crystallizing around the need to prepare in advance of the catastrophe that we all know will strike. Few objective observers can defend the status quo any longer or continue to embrace post-event strategies that rely on the vagaries of global capital markets.'

'There is a growing recognition that the best solution is one that relies on pre-funding today for the catastrophes that we know will strike in the future,' he said. 'The answer cannot be just raise insurance rates and hope for the best.'

ProtectingAmerica.org has been the leading voice in advocating for a public-private partnership that would make homeowners insurance both more available and affordable for the 6-in-10 American families that live in areas prone to massive natural catastrophes.

The organization, whose membership include the American Red Cross, the International Association of Firefighters and more than 300 other organizations, as well as more than 20,000 individual members, was successful in working with policymakers in securing passage in the House of Representatives of the

Homeowners Defense Act of 2007 and has embarked on a mission to secure enactment of the Homeowners Defense Act of 2009.

President Obama co-sponsored the 2007 legislation and has indicated that he looks forward to signing the 2009 bill.

'Governors from across the country are beginning to rally around the concept that the best way to stop unfair taxpayer bailouts following the onset of massive catastrophes is to pre-fund state and national backstops that will rely on private funding for catastrophic losses instead of running to the federal coffers and draining taxpayer dollars,' Collins said.

'American taxpayers cannot afford to keep allowing raids on the federal treasury following major catastrophes. Those bailouts are unfair, inefficient and represent fundamentally flawed thinking,' Collins told some of the nation’s governors and staff at the NGA meeting.

'Governors are on the front lines and know as well as anyone that the only way to deal with future catastrophes is to adopt a long-term comprehensive approach that pre-funds protection, improves mitigation and preparation and enhances land use and planning with a primary goal of better protecting American families and the American taxpayer,' Collins said.