Response to letter about immigration
I feel I must answer the letter by Allen Russell, “Illegal immigrants hurt the United States” (Your Views, Jan. 7).
He writes: “The people coming in are not the best and brightest their countries have.”
I beg to differ. Having worked in health care for the 45 years, I believe our health care system would collapse without the wonderful foreigners who have helped staff our health care facilities.
Lois Margaret Drake Volcano
HPIA not working as it is intended
The Hawaii Property Insurance Association was set up to provide reasonable insurance as a last resort to people who owned homes in areas of the island where there were hazards that private insurance companies would no longer cover.
This was originally Lava Zone 1 and Zone 2 on the Big Island, but now includes any other areas in the state that private insurance companies want to avoid.
With present and future damage by wildfires (and the new wildfire hazard maps) and potential flooding caused by global warming, this is not only a Puna matter, this is a statewide matter!
With little warning, over 1,000 homeowners in Puna are seeing our insurance premiums increase 400%, from yearly premiums of $1,500 to over $7,000. These are not only the highest premiums in the state but some of the highest premiums in the country.
HPIA blamed people for choosing to live in Lava Zones 1 and 2 in the Puna area to explain why their rates were going up 35% in 2020 (and approximately an average of 22% every year since then).
HPIA is not an insurance company. It’s an association set up by the state Legislature.
There is virtually no public information available about HPIA. No minutes of any meetings (or postings when meetings are held), no yearly financial statements as to the amount of premiums collected or claims paid out, or what happens to any residual premiums left at the end of any year, or even the names of the members on the board of directors!
As far as we can find out, there is no representative from Puna on the board.
All insurance companies in the state yearly report by type of insurance the amount of premiums collected and how much was paid in claims. There are no financial disclosures about HPIA in these reports.
The 2019 state insurance report discloses that in 2018 (the year of the eruption in Puna) that private insurance companies (for casualty and fire coverage only} made $1.5 billion in gross profits!
HPIA — who are they helping?
Les Frey
Puna