State legislators, concerned about decreasing insurance coverage and rising premiums for houses along Rhode Island’s coastline, have scheduled a meeting for 4 p.m. Wednesday with a scientist who is modeling the extent of damage that a major storm could cause along the coast.

G. Dail Rowe, a senior research scientist with Accurate Environmental Forecasting in Narragansett, will present his models in Corless Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus.

He will focus on one urban area, probably Newport, one area in the upper Bay, either Bristol or Conimicut, and one coastal area such as Watch Hill or Matunuck.

Following Hurricane Katrina, insurers in Rhode Island and elsewhere are canceling policies for houses close to the water, imposing major premium increases, demanding major deductibles, or requiring structural changes or the purchase of flood insurance.

In response to those changes, several legislators formed a committee to study problems with coastal insurance and possibly develop legislation to protect homeowners from undue insurance costs.

Committee members are Rep. Paul W. Crowley, D-Newport; Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Hopkinton; Rep. Peter L. Lewiss, D-Westerly; Rep. John Patrick Shanley Jr., D-South Kingstown; Rep. Donald L. Lally, D-Narragansett; Rep. Eileen S. Naughton, D-Warwick; Rep. Kenneth Carter, D-North Kingstown; Rep. J. Russell Jackson, D-Newport; and Representative-elect Donna Walsh, D-Westerly.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Dr. Rowe’s model at this meeting,” Crowley, who led the effort to create the group, said in a statement. “This presentation will give us scientific data about the real risks that Rhode Island’s coastal communities face from hurricanes. This will help us show insurers where the actual risk is, so that homeowners that are not at risk will not be forced to pay more for their insurance.”