As Isaac bore down on the northern Gulf Coast last week, newly purchased reinsurance allowed the head of the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association to concentrate on the storm’s path and its aftermath rather than worry over covering claims. The new reinsurance — and Windstorm Underwriting Association chief Joe Shumaker’s sense of security — had been [...] [...]
Shumaker must be versatile at the state rating bureau Joe Shumaker has had a long career with the Mississippi Rating Bureau, where he began working at age 20. He currently wears three hats as manager of the three separate entities at the bureau. There’s the Mississippi Rating Bureau, established by state law in 1924, which [...] [...]
Coast residents want people to understand that their high homeowners’ insurance rates affect everyone. And now that the state of the economy ensures that no more federal and state subsidies are likely, residents dependent on the state’s public insurance program called the Wind Pool could eventually face a rate increase. As studies have pointed out, [...] [...]
Economy could force changes in urban and rural fire operations Steps taken by Mississippi’s state government during the last 23 years are credited with keeping today’s home and business fire insurance rates stable. But budget problems in urban fire departments and manpower shortages in rural ones threaten the hard-won stability. As the recession lingers, localities [...] [...]
New insurance firm staking its viability on belief water — not wind — is biggest threat to Gulf homes A little more than seven months after it began providing wind and flood coverage to homeowners along Mississippi’s coast, Coastal American Insurance Co. is ready to take on several thousand new policyholders, says Ned Dolese, a [...] [...]
Fire Ratings Bureau more concerned with nearness of fire services than number of homes to be served Want to pay less for fire insurance? Move next door to a fire station, even if the neighborhood is jam packed with dwellings. In fire insurance, as in real estate, location is everything. When Joe Shumaker and his [...] [...]
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