At meetings with Florida legislative leaders, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) discussed federal loan guarantees to sustain the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.  Nelson, a former Florida insurance commissioner, said the state cat fund is currently $18 billion short of what would be needed if a major hurricane hit a large urban area of the state.  Nelson warned that the state could not sell bonds in today’s troubled financial markets to meet the obligations that would follow a major storm. Nelson said he would introduce legislation to have the federal government guarantee loans by the private sector for catastrophic losses.  Nelson said that under his plan, instead of the federal government offering a line of credit directly to any state catastrophe fund, there would be a federal guarantee of the private sector loaning that money.

Nelson Moves to Sustain FL Cat Fund (Tallahassee Democrat 3/24/09)

March 31, 2009