SOUTHLAND : Catastrophe Relief Coming?

It was an ill wind for the Gulf Coast, but some policy-makers and insurers are hoping that Hurricane Erin might have blown California some good. Erin lashed Florida, Alabama and Mississippi last week. The California connection? Many legislators, insurers and consumer advocates here believe that the long-term answer to California’s earthquake insurance problems is a nationwide insurance fund that would cover a range of catastrophes, including quakes and hurricanes. The Natural Disaster Protection Partnership Act, now before Congress, would create such a fund, but observers haven’t given the legislation much chance of passage this session. However, Jerry Davies, spokesman for the Personal Insurance Federation, a trade group representing several of California’s largest insurers, said the bill continues to pick up sponsors--nearly 160 lawmakers have signed on so far--and may gain momentum in Erin’s wake.