S.C. insurance chief non-renewed

Add the director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance to the thousands of coastal homeowners who have lost property insurance since Hurricane Katrina.

Scott Richardson, who lives on Hilton Head Island, has been notified that his policy is being dropped.

Following Katrina two years ago, premiums rose substantially in hurricane-prone areas, and some insurers stopped writing coverage. Richardson now finds himself among those shopping for insurance. “I guess it just proves nobody’s immune. If I’m not immune, then nobody is,” said Richardson, who was appointed to head the insurance department in February.

Richardson may have to join the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association, known as the wind pool. In July, the department announced rate increases averaging 35 percent.

“I might be in the wind pool before you know it,” Richardson said. “I get to try a little of my own medicine.”