FEMA insurance rules change surprises local governments

[babylonsister]

How timely. Why the secrecy?


FEMA insurance rules change surprises local governments
Posted by The Times-Picayune August 17, 2007 9:46PM

By Rebecca Mowbray
Business writer

In a little-noticed memo issued in June, the Federal Emergency Management Agency changed the insurance requirements that local governments and nonprofits must meet to be eligible for public assistance in times of disaster, putting groups such as hospitals, schools and parish governments on the hook for millions of dollars should another storm strike the New Orleans area.

The changes set much higher requirements for insurance coverage and essentially leave nonprofits and local governments solely responsible for paying their own insurance deductibles. Those deductibles, which FEMA used to pay, in some cases now cost tens of millions of dollars, and could leave many of these bodies financially vulnerable in the wake of a natural disaster. The regulatory changes, discovered by a New Orleans insurance agent, have public officials scrambling to intervene.

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has written to President Bush trying to get the new insurance requirements waived. Sen. Mary Landrieu's office has requested a briefing with FEMA on the issue Monday. And the local insurance agent, Hartwig Moss III, has organized a meeting Wednesday afternoon for public officials to help groups figure out what steps they need to take in advance of another hurricane to try to be exempted from the new rules.

"We believe that the vast majority of those in the not-for-profit and governmental communities are completely unaware of these issues and the potential for extremely serious consequences for their organization and indeed, for our community, as a result of these changes," said Moss, president of the Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency Ltd., which has been around for 135 years.

Dan Jilek, public assistance insurance specialist at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said state government is exempt from the issue because it is allowed to have a formal program of self-insurance. But parish governments, nonprofit hospitals, museums, libraries, universities, schools, fire stations, police stations, sanitation districts, animal rescue facilities and others all need to be aware of the new rules, which come in to play with events that result in a disaster declaration from the president.

"It wasn't well-known," Jilek said.

more...

http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/08/fema_insurance_rules_change_su.html

[Solly Mack]

1. K/R

amazing...hit after hit after hit after hit

[merh]

2. the bush administration

the slimiest, crockedest, most contemptable administration in history

[babylonsister]

3. Hi, merh. Did you know about this? And how low will they go? nt

[merh]

5. I hadn't heard of this.

Your post was the first time I had heard of it.

Thanks for posting it.

ANd I have no idea how low they will go, I put nothing past this bunch. :(

:hug:

[babylonsister]

7. I'm right there, too. Take care. nt

[peacetalksforall]

4. OK, you all understand why this was done ... right?

1). This ruling regime is using every penny they can find to:
. give our taxpayer money to R. candidates using the RNC (see threads -last few days)
. spend on their war - by buying and contracting with friends. (see
threads - last few days for recent examples.)
. paying excessive costs for equipment that costs little - laundering our taxpayer money to friends.
. paying off essential people to support their war - some in Poland, Georgia, Roumania, British and who knows how many other places (Guantanamo they get for free).
. buying prisons, jets, pilots, fuel, permissions to fuel up, APA advisors in how to torture. (American Psychiatric Association.)
. buying people's secrecy - paying journalists.
. paying untold dollars for legal protection and representation for crimes they committed.

2). Add to reckless and dishonest spending of our taxes - they operate under the philosophy that the government should not dole out any money - they want us all to pitch in and help each other - donut sales, car washes, special performances, raffles. We are on our own with PNAC and their boss-barons. Norquist rules. (But, of course, that does not exclude his association with Moslem charity organizations - some who are under (make that were under) investigation for law breaking and sponsoring suicide bombers.

[babylonsister]

6. Kicking for your post! Thanks. nt