Hurricanes are probably something that Disney World in Orlando, Florida, worries some about. I know a friend who was in one of the Disney Resorts for one of the hurricanes a couple of years ago and says that trees might be down and damage evident all through Orlando, but Disney had the resort cleaned up almost before anyone even got up the next morning! Customer satisfaction has always been a Disney hallmark.
Educational exhibits are also not new to Disney – EPCOT has many, if not commercialized, educational exhibits. And they've tackled controversial subjects in the past. I, myself, took my children to see a short animated presentation hosted by Martin Short about human reproduction (The Making of Me) at Disney several years ago. And it was very, very well done. Another educational, but controversial topic was one on "Universe of Energy" sponsored by Exxon, starring Ellen Degeneres and Bill Nye, that maintained that there is plenty of oil and gas for everyone, not to worry.
Disney's new attraction, StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes, is sponsored by FLASH, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc., (there are other sponsors, see press release here) . It is a 4D presentation showing the destruction of hurricanes and, in an entertaining way, makes the case for building elements that reduce storm damage. StormStruck is aimed at raising awareness about safer, stronger, more weather-resistant homes.
The exhibit is probably very interesting to residents of the Gulf Coast and Atlantic states and probably surprising to residents from other areas. I appreciate the effort to educate the (Disney-going) public, even a little, with proposals for National Catastrophe Funds, among others, being presented.
One feature of National Cat Funds and reforms of the National Flood Insurance Program are the cross-subsidies that are bound to be a feature. You can't have a coastal resident pay less without someone else paying more. (That is not quite true if the variance is reduced, but close enough).
Yesterday, this article was printed by the National Underwriter, writing about leading reinsurers making the point that loss mitigation, like what they are teaching to 10 year olds at Disney, would be far better than setting up either intended or unintended subsidies. Along with land conservation, loss mitigation and stronger building codes significantly improve results after a hurricane and should be encouraged. Subsidies encourage behavior such as building on the beach without the proper building techniques.
A website about building techniques and how they help prevent storm damage is at this site about the ARA, Applied Research Associate's Intrarisk program, which provides certifications to Florida buildings regarding the building's loss mitigation features. The company helped the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation present a large schedule of credits for various loss mitigation credits that apply to the insured's Homeowners and Property Insurance. A search of the internet could not locate those reports, but I have pdf versions available (CONTACT ME). Other states may well follow with similar loss mitigation credits.
I believe that credits like these, along with a strong building code and land management/conservation efforts would provide the right incentives and avoid damaging cross-subsidies.
No comments:
Post a Comment