Travelers Announces Program to Write Policies for Fortified Homes in
Coastal Communities
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The
Travelers Institute today launched an ongoing initiative to promote
and raise awareness of catastrophe readiness. As part of this
initiative, The Institute hosted the Partnership on Mitigation Summit,
convening a panel of experts to discuss strategies for making homes more
resilient. At the summit, The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
announced a pilot program to write insurance policies in certain states
along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts for homes meeting established
standards designed to resist the impacts of tropical storm and hurricane
winds. Qualifying homes will be eligible for a 35 percent hurricane
premium credit.
"Homes built to meet these stringent standards are better able to
withstand severe weather, reducing property losses and saving lives, and
we want to promote and raise awareness of these smarter building
practices," said Eric Nelson, Travelers Vice President, Personal
Insurance. "Building stronger homes is a key principle of the Travelers
Coastal Hurricane Wind Zone Plan, our proposal to improve the
availability and affordability of catastrophic wind coverage in
communities along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. We hope this initiative
and meaningful premium credit will encourage homeowners, builders and
building officials to adopt these disaster resistant standards."
Nelson served as moderator for The Institute's Partnership on Mitigation
Summit held at Travelers Claim University in Windsor, Conn. The
panelists included:
- Julie Rochman, President and CEO - Institute
for Business & Home Safety;
-
Dail Rowe, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Regional Manager - WeatherPredict
Consulting, Inc.;
- Manuel Lonfat, Ph.D., Managing Director - Travelers;
- Jay Guin, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Modeling and Research - AIR
Worldwide;
- Ann Roberson, Manager - SC
Safe Home Program, South Carolina Department of Insurance.
"I am pleased to join with The Travelers Institute in helping to get the
word out about the importance of fortifying homes to be more resilient
to natural disasters," said Julie Rochman, President and CEO, Institute
for Business & Home Safety. "When homes are built or retrofitted to make
them more durable, we are protecting property, saving lives and helping
to reduce costs to consumers and insurers." The IBHS Fortified
... for safer living(R) program is one example of a designation
that would qualify a home for Travelers' new 35 percent hurricane
premium credit.
"We believe that investment in mitigation and other policies that
proactively manage risk are the most promising ways to help
storm-exposed communities safeguard themselves from natural
catastrophes, both physically and financially," said Dail Rowe, Senior
Scientist and Regional Manager, WeatherPredict Consulting, Inc. "We are
developing innovative, cost-effective mitigation approaches for both new
construction and retrofit applications for the existing built
environment, and we applaud The Travelers Institute for convening this
summit and fostering discussion about this important topic."
Dr. Jay Guin, Senior Vice President of Modeling and Research at
catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide, described how building codes evolved
in response to catastrophes such as Hurricane Andrew, how changes to
building codes are incorporated into catastrophe models and how
catastrophe models can be used to assess the impact of mitigation
features. Dr. Guin commented, "AIR post-disaster damage surveys have
found that mitigation efforts have proven to be quite effective."
Established in 2007, the SC Safe Home Program offers grants for South
Carolinians to strengthen their homes against the damaging effects of
hurricane force winds. Program Manager Ann Roberson presented these key
findings:
-
According to a June 6, 2006FEMA press release, for every dollar spent
on mitigation, society saves $4 in potential losses and reconstruction
costs. Based on this information, the SC Safe Home Program has reduced
the potential loss and future reconstruction costs from a hurricane or
severe wind event impacting the state by more than $15 million.
-
Homeowners have reported, on average, a 29 percent savings in their
energy costs after replacement windows have been installed through SC
Safe Home.
-
Houses retrofitted through SC Safe Home are more attractive risks to
insurance companies. Homeowners have reported savings in their
insurance premiums of up to 23 percent.
"Potential changes in hurricane activity and a significant growth in
property development have left U.S. coastlines vulnerable to
catastrophic risks. As a result, consumers, builders and regulators are
asking how to mitigate risk," said Joan Woodward, Travelers Executive
Vice President of Public Policy and head of The Travelers Institute.
"Loss experience data shows dramatic benefits of mitigation strategies
that can effectively reduce potential future hurricane losses. Today's
summit brought together a range of experts to begin collaborating on
mitigation strategies that can provide significant value to society by
creating more resilient communities."
About The Travelers Institute
The Travelers Institute, created by The Travelers Companies, Inc.,
engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance
to the insurance marketplace and the financial services industry. The
Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers' senior
management and the technical expertise of many of Travelers'
underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information and
analysis to public policy makers and regulators.
Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto,
home
and business.
For more information, visit www.travelers.com.
Source: Travelers
Contact: Travelers Media Contacts:
Jennifer Wislocki, 860-277-7458, or
cell: 860-391-2605
or
Erin Haberman, 860-277-3617, or
cell: 860-305-9130