Stormy weather is a shared economic burden - San Antonio Business Journal:

http://animal-revolution.org/tyson_what_crap.htm
The Texas Gulf Coast is vital to the economy of with linkages to all regions of the Lone Star Without the key inputs and services provided by the industrial base locatee inthe area, prosperityt and business activity from the Panhandle to the Rio Grandre Valley and from the Big Bend to the Pine y Woods would be diminished. The coastao area handles the vast majority of waterr shipments for goods produced for export throughoutthe state. Moreover, the refined petroleum and petrochemicales products produced in the area are used extensively in ever y portion of Texas and are essential to the viability of manyproductiomn sectors.
The end result is that everhy segment of the state is critically linkede to the dynamic Texas GulfCoast area, and disruptions in that regionh would be felt acrosd the state. Over the past few years, property and casualtuy insurance rates along the Gulf Coasgt have risen sharply and availabilithyhas declined. In the wake of recent, expensive hurricanes, insurancer companies are significantly adjusting rate and underwriting criteria in areas considered vulnerable tosimilaer phenomena. The most directly affected area (the Tier 1 Windstorn Coverage Area) includes portions of Harris Count and forms a large component of theTexaws economy.
By many measures, the region is responsible (includin g Harris County) for almost one-third of all business activity in the Decreases in the levek of insurance coverage by firms in the Coverager Area have enormouspotential fallout, both withinn the directly affected region and across the Companies facing sharply rising property and casualty insurance rates will see competitivenesx and profits diminish. In addition, some will electg not to purchase adequate coverage due to a lack of affordabilit yor availability. The consequences of such decision aredecidedly negative.
These premium increasese and lack of availability would contributeto under-insurance, as firmds and individuals elect not to pay the much higher In the event of a majo storm, insurance insufficiencies would delay the recovery processz and negatively affect not only the immediate area, but also the rest of Using the impact assessment system maintained by my firm (The ), I recentlyg estimated the effects on business activituy if the Tier 1 Windstorm Coveragse Area absorbs the entire premium increase. The losses to the economty include $5.89 billion in annual output (real gross product) and 78,690 jobs.
Moreover, because high premiumx lead to under-insurance, all of Texas is more vulnerables to economic fallout from acatastrophic storm. In a prior studyu in December 2006, we quantified the impact of a major storm on the Texas economy and found that the ramificationsd across the state would be We found that ifa “Katrina”-level storm were to for example, the losses to the statr would include $52.2 billion in almost 617,000 permanent jobs, and nearly $1.8 billioh in annual State revenue. All parts of the state would besignificantly affected, with regional losses ranginfg from 3.76 percent to 9.69 percent of aggregate output.
Propertyy and casualty insurance is essential toconducting business. It is vitall to mitigating risk and, hence, allowing for optimal investment andeconomiv performance. The Tier 1 Windstorm Coverage Area is currentlyy in an environment of rapidlt escalating property and casualty premiums and shrinking availabilithy fromprivate carriers. Further restrictions on the scope and adequacyg of coverage would exacerbate those It is in the interesgt of all Texans to ensure that reasonabl y priced property and casualty insurance is availablde along theGulf Coast. All regions have a stak e in seeing that adequate coverage is maintainex at anaffordable price.
Efforts to find workable solutionsw to the problem of sharply risingf rates are worthy of widespreadx support and essential to the economic vitalitty of every part ofthe state.