From Deseret News archives:
Insurance rates won't rise
But Utahns may want to examine their disaster coverage
Insurers estimate the damage done by Katrina could be more than $25 billion. But those costs will only be borne by the states affected by the storm. Meanwhile, some Utahns are looking at how to prepare for a possible disaster here.
Joe Gacioch, Allstate Insurance's corporate relations manager over the Mountain West, said insurance companies set up sufficient reserves to cover their losses in each state where a disaster may occur.
"No one could have predicted the size of damage that this particular storm might have caused," Gacioch said. "But we are not anticipating that people outside the affected area will pay for the disaster — there should be sufficient reserves."
Phil Supple, spokesman for State Farm Insurance, said insurance companies consider variables such as weather trends, claim trends and the cost of rebuilding, in setting insurance costs in order to have adequate resources to pay for the claims.
"Your costs in the states that are frequently hit by severe storms tend to be higher, Supple said. "Living on the coast of Florida, you would probably pay twice as much for homeowners insurance, if not much much more, than you would living in Utah."
But Utah has its own risks.
Experts say the Salt Lake Valley could be due for a 7.0 earthquake that could cause landslides, broken gas lines, dam failures and liquefaction.
Even so, most insurance companies estimate between 10 percent and 15 percent of their Utah clients have earthquake insurance — though it varies from below 5 percent to more than 20 percent of the population, depending on location.
Allstate, one of the biggest providers in the state, said 22 percent of homeowners under its policies are covered by earthquake insurance. Acordia Mountain West and American Insurance estimate between 5 percent and 10 percent of their clients purchase earthquake coverage.
"It's expensive. It's not required by lending institutions, so people don't buy it," said Stuart Young, Acordia's managing director.
But Young said getting natural disaster insurance is an emotional decision. Often, there is increased demand after catastrophic events such as Katrina or last spring's flooding in St. George.
"They decide they want it right after something like that happens, but then they drop it when it's time for renewal," Young said.
