Cameron Bagherpour ~ North Carolina Insurance

Have you ever seen the series 'Planet in Peril' on CNN? Well, we've got our very own perilous situation right here in North Carolina. Our insurer of last resort along the coast, 'The Beach Plan' is in trouble. A new independent study performed by The Property & Casualty Insurers Association of America finds that the Beach Plan is not financially prepared to handle even a single severe storm.

What does this have to do with you? Well, nothing if you don't live in North Carolina. But if you are lucky enough to call The Old North State home, then it has a lot to do with you, especially if you own a home here.

The problem is overexposure to risk and underfunded catastrophic reserves. The Beach Plan insures about $70 Billion in property and is growing by $1 Billion every month.

According to their own records, the Beach Plan has about $1.5 Billion in reserves while a severe storm could easily cost over $7 Billion.

So I'm sure you're wondering where the other $5.5 Billion will come from. Well, when there's a shortfall, the plan is designed to spread risk among all the private homeowner insurers throughout the state - even among those that are smart enough not to insure homes along the coast. That means that in the event of a major storm, many homeowner insurance companies will go out of business. There is no disputing this fact.

Companies are scared. Scared enough to pull out of the state altogether, as we've seen with Farmer's Insurance this past year. Scared enough to raise rates statewide, as most major carriers have already done this year.

ALL NORTH CAROLINA HOMEOWNERS are being forced to pay higher insurance premiums because of the Beach Plan's exposure along the coast. NC homeowners are paying to insure coastal properties even if they don't own property on the coast.

We have about 8 more months to get this worked out before our next hurricane season, and remember, we get a chance to elect a new Insurance Commissioner this year - make sure your vote counts!

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that there were 493 fewer DUI related driving fatalaties in 2007 compared to 2006. That amounts to a 3.7% drop nationwide. 37 states had declines in DUI deaths.

Hidden in the details were some disturbing figures for North Carolinians. Even though fatalaties were down ON AVERAGE nationally, North Carolina's fatality rate actually INCREASED. Not only that, but the state had the LARGEST increase in the number of people killed in DUI related accidents year over year at 66. South Carolina had the second largest increase (44).

Also hidden in the figures was the fact that MOTORCYCLE DUI deaths went up nationally by 7.5%. And here in NC? The increase was 29.5%.

I'm not laughing. I have two pictures posted in my office. The first is the picture of a 36 year old father of two. The second is the picture of his 10 year old son. Both were killed by one of my policyholders this year while driving drunk. Coincidentally, the father and son are the same ages as myself and my son.

Cameron Bagherpour
Home & Auto Insurance Agent
Cary, NC 27519
919.460.0606

In September, Farmers Insurance will no longer issue new homeowners insurance policies in North Carolina. Then in November, Farmers will begin non-renewing their ENTIRE homeowners book in the state, month by month. This is not necessarily good news for insurance consumers. One less carrier means one less option to get your rates down.

Even though I am an Allstate Insurance agent, it's never good to see another carrier pull out of the state. Although I now have one less competitor, it also means the state as a whole has one less carrier to spread catastrophic risk upon.

The reason cited by Farmers is that they cannot bear the potential risk of hurricane assesment if there were to be a major hurricane in the state. The article in its entirety can be found here:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2008/08/14/92787.htm

We're proud to announce that we are one of the first municipalities in North Carolina to become a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense partner.

As a WaterSense partner, we'll be helping our customers learn about and identify water-efficient products in the marketplace that have been independently certified for efficiency and performance. Look for the WaterSense label on appliances and fixtures in stores, and in selecting water-related services such as irrigation specialists.

As the drought of 2007 continues into 2008, our partnership with the EPA further enhances our water conservation educational efforts. We encourage you to use water wisely and replace inefficient fixtures in order to conserve water.

Ready to start conserving more? Call the Public Works and Utilities Department at 469-4090 to request a water flow bag to test the efficiency of your showerheads and faucets or a Toilet Training Tutorial to help you detect and repair leaks. If you need an efficient showerhead or faucet aerator (bathroom or kitchen), you can pick one up free of charge from our Operations Center at 400 James Jackson Ave.

To learn more about the WaterSense program, visit www.epa.gov/watersense or check out the Water Conservation section of our Web site at http://www.townofcary.org/.