By Peter Biello
Wilmington, NC – South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford signed into law today a bill that would provide tax credit incentives for insurers and policy owners. The new law allows tax credits up to $1,250 for lower-income property owners who pay more than 5-percent of their income towards insurance premiums. Ann Roberson of the South Carolina Department of Insurance says the new law gives homeowners a better chance to protect themselves.
The insurance companies will provide these sorts of discounts and credits if people do make their homes stronger and more fortified, and on the other end of it is the mitigation grant piece, where we're trying to help the homeowners carry those efforts through.
Roberson says she hopes the law will attract more insurance companies to the region. A report out of the South Carolina Department of Insurance finds Hurricane Hugo was the last major storm to hit the state, costing South Carolina $7-billion.