Allstate backs taxpayer insurance pool (September 01, 2005)

Recently, even before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, devastating the nation and causing near insurmountable damage, Allstate Corp. suggested a taxpayer backed catastrophe insurance pool might be the best bet for US consumers.

Natural and manmade disasters from hurricanes, flooding, explosions and even terrorism are, as Katrina reiterates, inevitable. Yet it is apparent that the US private insurance system is vulnerable and most consumers do not know how to respond to disaster. In order to address the problem, Allstate’s president and coo Tom Wilson says a public insurance pool should be initiated.

Wilson says catastrophe funds could help to keep insurance companies solvent and consumers protected in the face of mass disaster. Pools would cover losses and charge premiums that cover the risk; this money would not be able to be touched by government agencies.

In line with its support of responsible consumer catastrophe cleanup, the Allstate Foundation recently awarded a citizen group with a $100,000 grant for its training program, which aims to help citizens prepare for and respond to an emergency disaster.

The grant will also aid the launch in September of a multi-media disaster preparedness public awareness campaign, intended to encourage personal responsibility and volunteer service. September is National Disaster Preparedness Month.

“Allstate believes the public and private sectors must partner together much more effectively in order to prepare for and recover from catastrophic disasters,” Wilson says.