Meeting Minutes – August 21, 2014

Coastal MS Homeowners’ Hurricane Insurance Initiative (HHII)

Meeting:  Thursday, 08/21/2014, 6:30pm, St Thomas Catholic Church, Long Beach

Bob Chatham, facilitator, welcomed all present and the meeting opened with prayer.  There were 61 people in attendance.

Bob C. gave a brief history of our organization, followed by a power point presentation narrated by Michelle Kurtz.  This was followed by a Q & A session with questions from the audience; answers provided by core members of Coastal MS HHII, Dan Hanson & Michelle Kurtz.

Team Reports 

City/County Contacts:  Janis Floyd reported that a meeting is being set for early September of community and business leaders in Hancock County, to include the cities of Bay St Louis and Waveland.  This is being set up by Lisa Cowand, a Hancock County supervisor, and members of Coastal MS HHII will give a 15 minute presentation.  Leaders will be presented with copies of a resolution, hopefully to be used by each community as a template, to give support of the efforts of HHII to get a clarity law passed in MS and to further study the Coastal Band idea.  She asked for volunteers to make similar contacts in Harrison County.

Church & Organizational Contacts:  Lauren Hymel updated on the different denominational church contacts that have been made.  She also told the group that she is available to give short presentations to clubs and organizations and passed around a sign-up sheet in case anyone would like to take advantage of that.

Media Contacts:  Marcia Kruse reported that tonight’s meeting is being given coverage by WXXV TV station  (Biloxi) and there will be a spot on the evening news about Coastal MS HHII.  She is putting announcements in the Sun Herald prior to our meetings.  We have a Facebook page, managed by Lauren Hymel, and it is helpful for everyone to tell family and friends to go to www.coastalms.org and also to “Like” the Coastal MS HHII  facebook page.

Alabama DOI White Paper:  This is the response of the Alabama Department of Insurance to the Clarity Law and issues they have with the way the data is being reported.   Paulette Mowbray gave a good review of that and brought out a number of points in the “White Paper” with which HHII disagrees.  Paulette also shared a link to view a debate by Karen  Clark, who invented the hurricane catastrophe model, and a Florida modeler during a presentation given to Gov. Bentley’s Affordable Homeowners’ Insurance Commission.

State Level Contact Team:  Discussion was led by Bob Chatham inviting everyone to make contacts with their local legislators, to make sure they are aware of the HHII efforts and to invite them to the legislative roundtable meeting on Thursday evening, October 23.  Contacts need to be made by September 15 and reports made to the group on September 25.   A sign-up sheet was made available.

Bob C. also announced that HHII members have been invited to an informal meeting of the insurance committee, to sit down and have a discussion to learn how we can get the clarity law passed in the 2015 legislative session.  This will take place in Jackson in January 2015; HHII members will be given this date and details when  they are  known.

Gulf Coast-East Coast Coalition: Janis Floyd reported on the latest meeting, held August 5 in Slidell, LA.  Meeting was attended by HHII members from Alabama (including Dan Hanson & Michelle Kurtz), Mississippi (represented by Janis Floyd) and Louisiana.  These meetings are held periodically to bring HHII members from different states together to brainstorm and share ideas.  A one-day conference is in the planning stages (possible location Biloxi), and notices will be sent by email when details are known.

Possible name change to our Coastal MS organization:  Marcia Kruse leads this team and announced she is already using the name “Hurricane Insurance Initiative,” dropping the Homeowners’ part since the problem of high insurance premiums affects businesses and churches as well as homeowners.  Discussion followed.

NEXT STEPS / IMPORTANT DATES:

  1. September Work Session (meeting ofJ the core group but open to anyone who wishes to come):  Thursday, September 11, 12:00 Noon, St Thomas Episcopal Church, Diamondhead.  (If you need directions, call Janis Floyd, 228-255-9024.)  Bring a brown bag lunch; drinks provided.

 

  1. Personal Contacts with Coastal representatives and senators:  Make contacts by September 15 and report at September 25 meeting.  Let them know what we are doing and that they have our support; invite them to roundtable meeting (see below).

 

  1. September general meeting of Coastal MS HHII:  Thursday, September 25, 6:30 pm, St Thomas Catholic Church, Long Beach.

 

  1. Legislative Roundtable meeting is set for Thursday evening, October 23, place tba (but it will probably be at St Thomas Catholic Church in Long Beach).   Be sure to mark your own calendar for this event and plan to bring others who have concerns about the high cost of property insurance in coastal counties.  We need a strong number in attendance.

 

  1. A meeting with Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney is tentatively scheduled for Thursday evening, November 6.  Details to be given later.  Please plan to come and bring others, as above.  We need a strong number in attendance.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Janis Floyd

 

 

 

 

 

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