State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Metcalf has approved a risk-based premium structure that allows 5 percent to 30 percent premium reductions, depending on the preventive device used, Cayetano said yesterday.
"This means an average annual hurricane insurance premium of $400 can be reduced by up to $120," he said. The new premium structure also reduces rates for buildings engineered to withstand hurricane force winds.
Details on how to qualify for the lower rates will be explained to insurance agents in the next few weeks, said Scott Clawson, market specialist for hazard mitigation at the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund.
Homeowners can get more information in the relief fund's "Attachment B," a 10-page document that includes drawings on how to make improvements with clips and tie-down strapping. Homeowners can obtain the booklet through their insurance agent.
Home improvements designed by a structural engineer are the best guarantee of the lower rates, but homeowners also can do the work themselves, Clawson said. Hurricane straps sold in building supply stores, or cable systems attached to the ground, can be used, he said.
The risk based premium structure becomes effective for new and renewed policies Nov. 1. The new structure follows a 15 percent cut in base rates announced June 1. Some 137,000 property owners are insured by the fund.
It was created by the state in 1993 after nearly all insurance companies stopped writing hurricane policies in the wake of Hurricane Iniki in 1992.