Who wouldn't want a hurricane-proofed home? Especially when your abode is within the hurricane prone vicinity. Nobody wants to see their hard earned shelter shatter into logs or like morsels everytime a feisty disaster strikes. That is why, In 2003, Geraldine and Tony Luppino built a home on a thumb of land that juts into St. Helena Sound. Fearing hurricanes, they made sure their new house was solid, complete with foot-thick concrete walls, hurricane straps for the roof and impact-resistant windows. In all, they paid a contractor $583,435.
But after a year or two - “We couldn’t believe it,” Geraldine said. “It was almost a million dollars more than we paid to build it, and it had nothing to do with our personal belongings. It was for the building only. It didn’t make sense.” - that was when they got a letter from Nationwide, their insurance carrier. The insurer had a new calculation for the home’s “replacement cost” — $1.54 million. Their premium and deductible would be based on this new figure.
Stories like these are fueling a push to change an insurance playing field that critics say is tilted against consumers. On March 21, state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, filed what he called the “Competitive Insurance Act,” legislation he said he hopes will help lure more companies to South Carolina and lower rates.
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