Bill Would Add Fee to Insurance to Pay for Crumbling Concrete Problem

Connecticut residents could end up paying more in home and renters insurance because of the crumbling concrete crisis. 

A proposal before the Connecticut state legislature would add a $20 annual surcharge to homeowners or renters insurance to help pay for repairs to help homeowners whose basements were damaged because of crumbling foundations. 

Replacing a basement can cost more than $200,000. 

Money from the proposed insurance surcharge would raise an estimated $20 million per year for the state's crumbling foundation assistance fund. 

This surcharge is part of a new senate bill that also has language that would require insurance companies to cover crumbling concrete basements, something they don't currently do. 

Sen. Paul Doyle, of Wethersfield, wrote the bill and said that while it might not satisfy everyone, it is a start. 

“I hate to say it; it's almost a drop in the bucket to the magnitude of the problem for all the homeowners that are having this problem. Still it is something to present and let the public weigh positive or negative,” he said. 

The Insurance Association of Connecticut said that requiring insurance companies to cover crumbling basements could cause premiums to double or more statewide. 

The association calls the homeowner and renter insurance surcharge an “intriguing idea,” but points out that a similar proposal failed to pass the legislature last year. 

They also said there’s already $100 million of state government assistance to help people with crumbling concrete basements. 

To date, 685 homeowners have filed complaints with the state saying they have crumbling concrete basements. 

The hearing on the latest bill to help them is scheduled for Monday. 

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