Home-construction measures proven to protect lives and property - and save millions for government, residents and insurance companies - can be instituted in Mississippi only if the state Legislature agrees to invest $100,000, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said Tuesday.

State Rep. Michael Janus and Rep. Brandon Jones, who chairs the House Insurance Committee, met Tuesday afternoon in Gulfport with Chaney, business leaders and risk-management specialists to talk about a catastrophe loss-mitigation program the Legislature approved in response to Hurricane Katrina.

The program is on the books without funding. As politicians look for ways to cut the state budget, Chaney fears the money will be hard to get.

Chaney said $100,000 will allow him to secure up to $1.5 million in matching funds for a study to map out the program. The study must be completed so he can secure $25 million in federal, state and private funding for the mitigation program.

A successful mitigation program, Chaney said, could result in insurance-premium reductions of up to 30 percent. The state wind pool, insurer of last resort for South Mississippians, offers discounts for mitigation measures. Nationwide insurance has also agreed to participate.

The first such program was developed in Florida in response to Hurricane Andrew. Leslie Chapman-Henderson of the Federal Alliance of Safe Homes said the program has been very successful, with more than 400,000 home inspections completed.

The inspections determine what residents should do to strengthen their homes against hurricanes. Residents receive matching grants for the work. Retrofits, she said, have cost an average of $3,200.

"If you don't do it," she said, "you have a cycle we call build, destroy, rebuild."

Hurricane mitigation focuses on potential roofs, and openings such as gable ends, windows, doors and skylights. Risk-management specialists have run models that show millions in savings when stronger building standards are used.

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