The state House and Senate both passed identical measures Tuesday to lift a moratorium on new home insurance policies in lower Puna.
The state House and Senate both passed identical measures Tuesday to lift a moratorium on new home insurance policies in lower Puna.
The Hawaii Property Insurance Association put the moratorium in place in September in response to the June 27 lava flow, which remains active near Pahoa.
The bills would lift that restriction and require at least 95 percent of policies to be renewed in each lava zone in the affected area.
“This is a very important bill not just for Puna but the Big Island,” said Sen. Russell Ruderman, who sponsored the Senate bill. “Without some sort of insurance protection, we would see property values fall; we are going to see county real property tax collections fall.”
The bills also allow the state insurance commissioner to authorize the nonrenewal of policies if the “financial soundness of the insurer would be impaired” otherwise.
Since the bills appear identical, Ruderman, D-Puna, said the measure will likely be moved quickly out of the state Legislature. If signed by Gov. David Ige, it would go into effect July 1.
Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, D-Puna, sponsored the House bill. She couldn’t be reached for comment.
Before it was amended, the House bill would have tapped hurricane relief funds to cover losses caused by the lava flow. The original Senate bill would have required policies to be renewed except in cases of nonpayment.
Ruderman said the insurance association has been approving new policies on a case-by-case basis. An HPIA representative couldn’t be reached for comment.
The lava flow has traveled about 14 miles to the northeast of Puu Oo on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone since emerging from the vent June 27. While it remains active, the flow has made little downslope progress since late January.
On Tuesday, lava edging along the south margin of the flow was about 0.7 miles from Highway 130, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense. The agency described it as small and advancing sluggishly.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.