March 3, 2003
Albany - The worry of terrorism is sparking a major insurance company to look at policies a little closer. State Farm recently announced nuclear explosions and radioactive fallout will not be covered under its auto insurance policy.
This announcement will not effect Georgia policy holders because it has to be approved by Department of Insurance.
The thought of seeing a nuclear bomb exploding has insurance companies taking action. Insurance Company Owner, Mike McPherson, says, "There's a lot of companies that are scrambling around trying to figure out what are we going to do about this."
McPherson is the owner of Lighthouse Insurance Agency in Albany. He says, "Changes are just beginning to occur."
Insurance companies are tightening up language on policies because the threat of terrorism. McPherson explains, "The curiosity about terrorism is greater now than it's ever been."
September 11th brought terrorism close to home. Now, insurance companies, like State Farm, are fine tuning auto insurance polices. They will not cover losses from nuclear reaction or radiation. It doesn't matter if it's an accident or intentional. McPherson says, "Usually when some of the larger companies make a decision, the smaller companies follow suit."
Lighthouse Insurance Agency is independent. McPherson deals with at least thirty insurance companies, so far none have made changes.
State Farm is sending letters to 40-million auto policyholders nationwide. Again, this will not effect Georgia customers.
posted at 5:10PM by kathryn.simmons@walb.com
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