Coastal insurance crisis first up for Goodwin

Wayne Goodwin, North Carolina's new insurance commissioner, says he's got a lot of work to do, but first up will be addressing the coastal insurance crisis.Goodwin, a Democrat and chief assistant in the commissioner's office, defeated Republican challenger John Odom.Goodwin said he feels deadline pressure to address the insurance market on the state's coastal property. The government-created insurance plan -- the Beach Plan -- was intended as a safety net for coastal property owners, but it has become the dominant form of insurance. It has only a fraction of the money it would need to cover damage from a major hurricane."I've described it as a ticking time bomb, and it is," Goodwin said.Goodwin says he wants to have a set of recommendations ready to address the plan in time for t