Editorials
Monday, August 25, 1997FIVE years after Hurricane Iniki smashed Kauai and pushed insurance companies into dropping hurricane coverage in Hawaii, the companies are coming back. That's good news for homeowners, because the state fund set up to protect them when private coverage became unavailable is inadequately funded. If another hurricane struck, there wouldn't be enough money to cover claims immediately. It could take years to get your money. Hurricane insurance
policies available againHomeowners were left unprotected when companies overwhelmed by claims from Iniki refused to renew their insurance. The state stepped in to fill the gap but the plan was flawed by inadequate reserves. Now two companies have been licensed by the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to offer homeowners' hurricane policies. The first was DRTC Insurance-Dai Tokyo Royal State, based in Japan. The second was Clarendon National Insurance Co., based in New Jersey.
Triad Insurance Agency, which represents Clarendon, says the company's policies will be backed by $4.9 billion in reserves -- three times the $1.6 billion in the state's Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund. That should mean prompt payment of claims, which couldn't happen with the state fund.
The state is underwriting about 160,000 homeowners' hurricane policies, most of the residential market. The executive director of the HHRF, Amori Ogata, is happy to see the private companies return, explaining that it's part of the HHRF mission to bring them back. If the trend continues, the state fund could presumably go out of business, which would mean one fewer government agency here.
TENSIONS are mounting in the Serbian enclave in Bosnia as the accused war criminal Radovan Karadzic fights to retain power in defiance of the NATO troops enforcing the 1995 Dayton peace agreement. Tension in Bosnia
The ultimate step would be the arrest of Karadzic, but it's doubtful that could be achieved without violence. Judging from the recent hardening of NATO policy, it appears to be a risk NATO is willing to take. For the sake of the peace accords and justice, it should.
THE recall of 25 million pounds of hamburger by Hudson Foods caused hundreds of mainland restaurants to run short but was a necessary precaution in view of the danger from tainted meat. It was, however, a huge waste of food that could easily have been avoided. If that meat had been irradiated, there would have been no health problem. Food irradiation
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
