Letter: Beware of the firestorm caused by rising fire insurance prices

Are we soon going to see condos being abandoned and tax revenues being lost due to unavailable or unaffordable fire insurance? The debate over converting to short-term rentals will be meaningless since families will not be able to afford the massive increase in fire insurance premiums.

The consequences of inaction are dire. Why are Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito and our elected leaders showing so little concern about this impending financial catastrophe?

Hawaiians want their families to prosper. They are leaving the islands because of the painful mental anguish of survival. The exodus will become more pronounced when condominium owners are given a special fire insurance premium of thousands of dollars and higher monthly maintenance fees. Politicians must quickly find solutions for affordable fire insurance. They must act before our economy collapses and we are labeled as third world islands, once known as the paradise islands of Aloha in America.

Phil Winter

Kihei, Maui

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