How can state government better assist businesses following a natural disaster? Last week a task force addressing that topic issued its recommendations to the Rebuild Iowa Coordinating Council.

Among the recommendations of the Business Disaster Case Management Task Force, established by the Legislature in March, is the creation of a “quasi-trust” fund financed by surcharges on commercial property and casualty insurance policies to provide immediate assistance to disaster-stricken businesses.

Other recommendations submitted to Gov. Chet Culver and legislators last week:

• Include business technical service providers and business representatives in the disaster response planning.

• Create a permanent program to provide forgivable loans for working capital to affected businesses.

• Task an existing state agency with the responsibility to coordinate all state interactions with federal agencies where federal program funds for business assistance are available and create a central database of recovery information and tracking.

Steve Morain, executive director of the Iowa Insurance Institute, called the insurance trust fund “an interesting concept,” adding that he believes insurers will be generally supportive of actions to help businesses be more prepared for disasters. The organization represents 28 major insurers and insurance trade associations in the state.

“The one thing the industry has not talked about is whether it’s better to do the funding for it out of the general budget, where everyone shares in the burden of it, versus just those who buy commercial policies,” Morain said. The institute’s board has not yet considered the recommendations.

The task force report can be viewed at www.rio.iowa.gov/resources/reports.html. A link to the report is under the “Other Reports” heading near the bottom of the page.