Jim Donelon, Louisiana’s insurance commissioner, said Wednesday that policyholders affected by Hurricane Ida and Tropical Storm Nicholas, and who may have to endure more storms before the end of this year’s hurricane season, should to file claims beforehand and be prepared to fight for them.
There are already indications that some insurers are backing Ida’s claims. State Farm, Louisiana’s largest home insurer with a market share of approximately 26%, has refused to waive its policy clause limiting eviction cost claims to people who were subject to an evacuation order.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon talks at the Baton Rouge Press Club in September 2019
Donelon said Allstate, followed by others with large Louisiana market shares, including USAA, Progressive and Liberty Mutual, have indicated they would waive the clause. So far, State Farm is the only major insurer that is explicitly denied.
“Frankly, I expected and thought everyone would,” Donelon said. “I was surprised when [State Farm officials] he told me that they would not and that they would stick to the language in politics. I pushed hard, and they didn’t back down. “
State Farm did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this story.
If you applied for FEMA assistance after Hurricane Ida, but received a letter telling you that you do not meet the requirements or that your application was still under …
The costs of Hurricane Ida insurance will not be accounted for in the coming months. But disaster modeling companies like AIR Worldwide and Karen Clark & Co. they estimate them to be between $ 18 billion and $ 30 billion. Louisiana will still bear 90% of those costs, Donelon said.
A $ 30 billion storm would be the eighth most expensive in U.S. history.
The Insurance Department has already filed more than 200 complaints from Ida policyholders. This is a fairly typical rate; for Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta in the 2020 storms, there were 1,700 complaints out of a total of 315,000 insurance claims. As a result of complaints to the Insurance Department, policyholders earned about $ 50 million, an average of $ 29,212 per complaint, Donelon said.
How many have you experienced?
Donelon will ask questions about insurance Thursday from Peter Kovacs, editor of The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, starting at 10 p.m. The interview will be shown live on NOLA.com and theadvocate.com
The setback for insurance companies is part of a family dance after hurricanes and other major natural disasters, said Suzette Bagneris, a New Orleans lawyer who specializes in insurance claims.
“This time we see the same kind of behavior that develops in terms of insurance and how things are adjusting,” he said. Sometimes insurers send several adjusters to a property, and the wind specialist attributes water damage and vice versa, as a tactic to minimize damage assessment.
Suzette Bagneris.
Bagneris, who will participate Thursday at noon in an insurance question and answer session organized by the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, advises policyholders to be proactive. She suggests hiring an independent local consulting firm, which typically charges about $ 75 an hour for a two-hour visit, and getting an estimate from a contractor for repairs. Keep receipts or value estimates for items that need to be replaced.
“You don’t have to accept the damage assessed by the insurance company,” Bagneris said. “I’ve seen private damage assessments raise demand to $ 50,000.”
Donelon said most of the complaints the Insurance Department has received are about the lack of communication from insurers and slow payment.
The insurance department has begun tracking complaints from the company and scoring them based on their market share to see if they attract an excessive number. Last year, State Farm accumulated the highest number of complaints, with 163, but it matched its market share. Allstate and USAA were among the largest insurers that had far fewer complaints than expected given their market share.
On the other hand, Allied Trust Insurance, which has just under 1% of the market, had more than six times the number of complaints expected given its share.
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Donelon said Louisiana policyholders should be reminded of the recent insurance laws that have been enacted to combat abuse by insurance companies. A 2009 law means a homeowner’s deductible covers an entire hurricane season, not just a storm.
“If you have evacuation costs or damage, for example, of $ 4,000 and your deductible is $ 5,000, file it anyway,” Donelon said. “It means that if you’re unlucky enough to be hit by another storm the same season, the deductible will only be $ 1,000.”
Another law enacted after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 means that any “God-made” claims (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and the like) cannot be used to increase premiums or cancel your insurance. “That means if you have any doubts, you have to present it anyway,” Donelon said. “It could benefit and it can’t hurt.”
South Louisians will clean up Hurricane Ida for a while, and it will cost money.
One thing insureds should avoid, however, is artificially inflating claims to overcome insurers who might try to minimize damage assessments, Bagneris said.
“You have to be a smart insured, but resist that temptation,” he said. “You don’t want to end up with an orange monkey.”