Your May 21 editorial about homeowners insurance was, as usual, sadly misleading. The state Court of Appeals' rejection of a coastal lawsuit was one procedure directing us to another venue, not a ratification of existing rates. We must litigate because there is no appeal process and no public input; in effect, the insurance commissioner is a czar who can and does sacrifice 10 percent of the population in order to please the other 90 percent of the voters.
The word "Florida," which you often use, is a dead giveaway for someone distorting the facts about insurance. It attempts to transfer the Florida experience to North Carolina. Florida is a peninsula between the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean where exposure is doubled and the temperature far more conducive to dramatic hurricanes. North Carolina has never had a Category 5 and only one Category 4 (Hazel).
Most of the million-dollar homes on the beach are considered "dwellings" for insurance purposes. No one is subsidizing them; it's the other way around. They pay drastically higher premiums for far less coverage. Perhaps another Hugo would refresh your memory about the real hurricane potential.
Tom Thompson
President, NC 20
Washington, N.C.