A package of House bills would help property owners buy insurance in Hawaii’s most high-risk zones, including those in Puna’s riskiest lava zones and survivors of the Maui wildfires who also lost homes.
State Rep. Greggor Ilagan (D, Hawaiian Paradise Park-Hawaiian Beaches-Leilani Estates) has introduced 10 bills ahead of one insurer’s plan to exit Hawaii’s property insurance market this summer.
Most of the bills are specific to Puna’s Lava Zones 1 and 2, where lava from Kilauea burst out of the ground in Leilani Estates in May 2018 before the eruption suddenly slowed, then stopped four months later. In between, 723 structures were wiped out, including an estimated 200 primary residences.
Universal Property &Casualty, which will pull out of the Hawaii market Aug. 31, had been issuing policies for Puna’s Lava Zones 1 and 2, and some remaining insurance companies will honor existing policies, Ilagan said. But none are willing to underwrite new ones, he said.
Other companies around Hawaii continue to issue homeowners insurance, but Universal’s pending departure means the pool of companies “is shrinking,” Ilagan said. “It’s definitely shrinking.”
Puna residents filed 152 insurance claims from the Kilauea eruption totaling $35 million, Ilagan said.
On Maui, property owners are expected to file $1.3 billion in insurance claims, he said.
Since the Aug. 8 wildfires, Gov. Josh Green has repeatedly warned property owners across the islands that insurance premiums are going to rise.
State Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito said the devastating Maui wildfires are “going to have a ripple effect across the whole state.”
At the same time, Ito said, insurance rates in Hawaii “cannot be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.”
Property owners can help reduce their wildfire risks by creating buffer zones around their homes by trimming back brush and asking their insurers for discounts, Ito said.
Another bill, introduced by state Rep. Kyle Yamashita (D, Pukalani-Makawao-Ulupalakua), would create “the State Self-Insurance Against Property and Casualty Risks Special Fund to … make it easier for the state to self-insure or utilize a captive insurer to mitigate against property and casualty risks.” HB 565 stalled in 2023 but remains alive.
The Legislature in 1991 created the nonprofit Hawaii Property Insurance Association to provide insurance for property owners in Puna’s Lava Zones 1 and 2 who were unable to buy insurance otherwise, Ilagan said.
Private insurance companies who want to sell policies in Hawaii are required to join the HPIA to help cover the overall cost of claims.
House Bill 2054 would require the HPIA “to offer additional types of homeowners insurance policy options that exclude lava coverage.”
>> HB 2056 would create a working group to look at the possibility of a state-run “reinsurance program to ensure affordable coverage for property owners against catastrophic events.”
Reinsurance programs help insurance companies cover losses and claims, but — especially with climate change — “there are only a few reinsurance companies left in the world, and the money is drying up,” Ilagan said.
>> HB 2048 calls for one HPIA member to be appointed by the Senate president and one by the speaker of the House, rather than the state insurance commissioner.
>> HB 2049 would require the HPIA to be more transparent and post more information on its website.
Other bills are specific to Puna’s Lava Zones 1 and 2 or to Hawaii island property owners in general:
>> HB 2053 would cap insurance premiums for residential properties “located in lava zones on Hawaii island based on premiums of comparable residential properties not located in lava zones on Hawaii island.”
>> HB 2052 would bar insurance companies from offering coverage, or refusing to renew a policy “solely on the basis that the applicant’s or insured’s real property is located in a lava-flow hazard zone.”
In announcing the upcoming departure of Universal Property &Casualty, the state Department of Commerce and Consumers Affairs — which oversees the Hawaii Insurance Division — said property owners “may qualify for coverage from the Hawaii Property Insurance Association (hpiainfo.com).”
“The Hawai‘i Insurance Division publishes a range of insurance guides and premium comparison sheets for public review online
at cca.hawaii.gov/ins/
resources,” DCCA said. “Consumers can utilize these informational guides to review and compare sample premiums from insurance companies licensed in Hawai‘i.”
In a statement, Insurance Commissioner Ito said in 2023:
“We remind consumers to be careful of potential scams. Many scammers prey on a consumer’s fear. Before doing business with an insurance agent or company, consumers should verify that they are an authorized and licensed insurance broker.”
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