Insurance Rate Relief becomes Law in MB
Homeowners in South Carolina, especially the hurricane-prone coast, can now receive grants and tax credits for making their homes more wind resistant, thanks to a bill signed into law Monday.
Website:
How to take advantage of these credits will be outlined in a new Web site - www.scsafehome.com - that the Department of Insurance should have online by Wednesday, said Ann Roberson, insurance department spokeswoman.
The first applications to apply for grant money will be available August 15, she said.
Workshop:
On June 27, the insurance department will be offering two workshops on how to retrofit your home at the Home Depot on Oak Forest Lane in Myrtle Beach. The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes will explain how to install shutters, roof tie-downs and garage door track reinforcements at free afternoon and evening workshops. The times haven’t been set yet.
The state’s insurance department has $2.3 million in grant money and hopes to look for more through federal matches, Insurance Director Scott Richardson said.
Some of the bill’s details:
• Offers homeowners tax credits of up to $1,000 for the cost of making their home more wind resistant.
• Offers tax credits of up to $1,250 for low income property owners who pay more than 5 percent of their income toward insurance premiums.
• Reduces sales tax by 3 percent for building supplies used to make homes more wind resistant.
• Requires insurers to give consumers a list of all discounts they can get for retrofitting their property and requires them to offer such discounts.
• Requires insurers to give 90 days notice for cancellation in hurricane season and 60 days notice for the rest of the year.
• Provides matching grants for single family, modular or manufactured homeowners to retrofit their properties. Homes must be owner occupied and be valued at $300,000 or less, and have undergone a wind certification and hurricane mitigation inspection.
The bill offers incentives to insurance companies for covering property in the wind pool, the state’s insurer of last resort. They get a credit of 25 percent against the premium tax.
Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC
