Insurance Rates a Struggle for Realtors

The high cost of insurance has been hurting the real estate business here on the Coast since after Katrina.
That’s one of the issues members of the Gulf Coast Realtor’s Association discussed with our local elected officials tonight at their legislative reception. This yearly event gives realtors the chance to address the issues affecting their industry.
Realtors say while the passage of the Clarity Act is a good first step to lowering insurance rates, we won’t see more people buying property until those rates actually go down.
President of the Gulf Coast Association of Realtors Deborah McGhee said, “Once the prices go up, it’s rare they’ll ever go back to the way they were pre-Katrina. We just want a modification to make things more affordable, so we can start with our market coming back. We are coming back some now, which, we’re real strong, but we could be booming with the better insurance rates.”
The Clarity Act passed last session and will require insurance companies to explain how and why they charge what they do and clarify it by zip code.