Connecticut Senator Says Surcharge to Help Homeowners Is Not Dead

April 10, 2018

A key Connecticut lawmaker says a proposed surcharge on insurance policies to raise money to help homeowners with crumbling foundations is not a dead issue.

Senator Cathy Osten, the Democratic Senate chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said Friday “the surcharge will come out again” this session, despite the Judiciary Committee defeating legislation last week on a 24-16 vote.

Eastern and central Connecticut homeowners with foundations crumbling because of an iron sulfide are angry lawmakers defeated legislation imposing a $20 surcharge on every homeowner policy issued in Connecticut to create an assistance fund.

The bill also would have required insurers to cover “peril of collapse,” which the industry says raises costs for everyone.

Lawmakers last year approved $100 million that still needs to be distributed, but homeowners say more is needed.

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