Homeowners living within three-quarters of a mile of the shore could be required to purchase storm shutters costing several thousand dollars to maintain their insurance coverage.

Although the requirement at the moment affects only about 2,000 policyholders of Andover Insurance Co., other companies have applied for permission to change the way they insure coastal or riverfront properties, Debra Korta, spokeswoman for the state Department of Insurance, said Thursday.

House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, blasted the requirement of the steel hurricane shutters that he said could cost up to $100,000 including installation.

"After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, we saw many insurers pull the rug out from under their clients by denying storm claims, and now they are planning to drop coverage before a storm even hits," Amann said. "I plan to fight this to the end."

State Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield, and Rep. Tom Drew, D-Fairfield, said they are outraged at the decision by Susan Cogswell, the state insurance commissioner, to approve Andover's request.

"It is absolutely, stunningly bad policy," Drew said.

"The commissioner is empowered to rule on these guidelines, but we as a legislature have the power to act when there is a decision we don't believe is fair or correct," McKinney said.

Most homes south of Interstate 95 in the coastal towns may be required to have the shutters installed if the three-quarters-of-a-mile limit is upheld, the legislators said.

"This apparently involves not just the Sound, but properties along major rivers like the Housatonic," Drew said. "The shoreline is the state's most valuable asset, worth more than $5 billion a year to the economy.

"The timing of this is horrific, too; we're smack in the middle of hurricane season," Drew said. "I have a letter ready to go to Governor [M. Jodi] Rell, asking her to intervene, and I expect that the Legislature will stand shoulder to shoulder on this."

Korta said her department reviews insurers' requests on a case-by-case basis, and that Andover has less than 1 percent of the market here.

"This [decision] is trying to balance availability of coverage for consumers with a viable and solvent industry," the spokeswoman said. "In Massachusetts, Andover made a determination not to renew 14,000 policyholders along Cape Cod."

A woman answering the phone at Andover Insurance Co.'s corporate office in Andover, Mass., said the company does not make its officials available to speak to the media.

Some Connecticut insurers already require the shutters or hurricane-proof glass, or demand higher deductibles for homes in low-lying areas, said Thomas Beirne, an independent insurance agent who lives near the beach in Milford.

He estimated that the steel shutters would cost about $40,000 to install on a 3,000-square-foot house.

"Companies are predicting that we'll be getting a hurricane of some significance at some point," Beirne said. "At first, some companies wouldn't write the coverage at all, but they've let up some."

Many companies are requiring the storm shutters, which either roll up or fit accordion-style next to the windows, for new policies on houses within 1,500 feet of Long Island Sound, the Milford man said.

Allstate is one of those, spokeswoman Robin Gorneau said. "If you are new to Allstate and your home is within 1,500 feet of the shore, you are required to have approved hurricane shutters.

"For renewals there is no change and wind damage is covered," Gorneau said.

The state building code requires the shutters or shatter-proof windows in high-wind zones, said Paul Craig, president of Shade and Shutter Systems Inc. of Hyannis, Mass. Those zones are all along the eastern Connecticut shoreline, he said.

"The building code is addressing the new construction, but there are thousands of homes out there that don't have the protection, and the insurance companies are requiring the shutters," Craig said. While most of his company's business is in Florida, "this has been a trend in the Northeast for the past 10 years."

The custom-engineered shutters are normally bolted in place and can cost about $18 a square foot, he said. Hurricane-proof glass — laminated and reinforced similar to a car windshield — requires special casings and installation and is more expensive, Craig said.

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FRANK JULIANO fjuliano@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post Online

Frank Juliano, Milford bureau chief, can be reached at 878-2130.

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